Bathers in a Landscape
Screen
1913 (painting (image-making)), 1913 (made)
1913 (painting (image-making)), 1913 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Vanessa Bell's screen was first known as 'Tents and Figures' although over time it has become associated with bathers. The theme of naked women in the open air was prevalent in the work of painters Bell admired, such as the French artists Cezanne and Matisse.
Bell was a director of the Omega Workshop, which specialised in objects for the home such as textiles, ceramics and furniture, designed and made by young avant-garde artists. She painted this screen soon after the Workshop opened in Bloomsbury, London, in July 1913, and based it on a sketch she had made on holiday in Norfolk that August. The screen is a greatly simplified and stylised version of the sketch, but both share a pyramidal composition. The folds of the screen and the poles of the central tent emphasise this compositional device.
Bell was a director of the Omega Workshop, which specialised in objects for the home such as textiles, ceramics and furniture, designed and made by young avant-garde artists. She painted this screen soon after the Workshop opened in Bloomsbury, London, in July 1913, and based it on a sketch she had made on holiday in Norfolk that August. The screen is a greatly simplified and stylised version of the sketch, but both share a pyramidal composition. The folds of the screen and the poles of the central tent emphasise this compositional device.
Object details
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Object type | |
Titles |
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Materials and techniques | Distemper on paper mounted on canvas. Painted softwood frame |
Brief description | Folding screen, 'Tents and figures', also known as 'Bathers in a Landscape', painted by Vanessa Bell for the Omega Workshops, 1913 |
Physical description | A four-leaf folding screen painted with four stylised human figures and an abstracted landscape including tents and hills, narrow black painted timber frame. |
Dimensions |
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Production type | Unique |
Object history | Purchased from Mrs Helen Anrep, 1964. This screen featured in the 'Omega Workshops Commemorative Exhibition' in December 1963 at the V&A Museum. This screen was also exhibited in 'The Art of Bloomsbury: Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant' at the Tate Gallery from 4th November 1999 to 30th January 2000. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Vanessa Bell's screen was first known as 'Tents and Figures' although over time it has become associated with bathers. The theme of naked women in the open air was prevalent in the work of painters Bell admired, such as the French artists Cezanne and Matisse. Bell was a director of the Omega Workshop, which specialised in objects for the home such as textiles, ceramics and furniture, designed and made by young avant-garde artists. She painted this screen soon after the Workshop opened in Bloomsbury, London, in July 1913, and based it on a sketch she had made on holiday in Norfolk that August. The screen is a greatly simplified and stylised version of the sketch, but both share a pyramidal composition. The folds of the screen and the poles of the central tent emphasise this compositional device. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | CIRC.165-1964 |
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Record created | January 19, 2006 |
Record URL |
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