Ruth soaking (from Goethe)
Print
1990 (made)
1990 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Sandra Fisher's work is most interesting for its treatment of subject - specifically the role reversal of male artist/female model to female artist/male model, and her portrayal of women friends. Generally based on the 'studio portrait' or 'life study', her figures are imbued with a warm, domestic intimacy.
This portrait of a friend bathing is obviously derived from Bonnard, but whereas we are aware of the obsessive compulsion of Bonnard to view his model/wife through the colour-and-light-transforming medium of water, Fisher has taken up the now famous intimacy of the pose to speak of her own very different and relaxed relationship with female friends. The point is made all the more strongly by using the familiar icon as a point of departure. This is neither an obsessed male view or a lesbian homosexual one, but rather more unusually, but signicantly in terms of feminist history, simply one of recording a friend enjoying herself in a very private and intimate way.
This portrait of a friend bathing is obviously derived from Bonnard, but whereas we are aware of the obsessive compulsion of Bonnard to view his model/wife through the colour-and-light-transforming medium of water, Fisher has taken up the now famous intimacy of the pose to speak of her own very different and relaxed relationship with female friends. The point is made all the more strongly by using the familiar icon as a point of departure. This is neither an obsessed male view or a lesbian homosexual one, but rather more unusually, but signicantly in terms of feminist history, simply one of recording a friend enjoying herself in a very private and intimate way.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Ruth soaking (from Goethe) (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Monoprint on paper |
Brief description | Monoprint by Sandra Fisher, entitled 'Ruth Soaking (after Goethe)', 1990 |
Physical description | Image of a woman immersed in a bath of water, stretched out, cut off at left just above knees by edge of picture plane; head by taps, hair spread over edge of tub. |
Dimensions |
|
Production type | Unique |
Marks and inscriptions | fisher 1990
'Ruth soaking (from Goethe)' 1990 (Signed and dated in pencil on lower right below image.
Inscribed on the back in pencil in the artist's hand with the title and date.) |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Sandra Fisher's work is most interesting for its treatment of subject - specifically the role reversal of male artist/female model to female artist/male model, and her portrayal of women friends. Generally based on the 'studio portrait' or 'life study', her figures are imbued with a warm, domestic intimacy. This portrait of a friend bathing is obviously derived from Bonnard, but whereas we are aware of the obsessive compulsion of Bonnard to view his model/wife through the colour-and-light-transforming medium of water, Fisher has taken up the now famous intimacy of the pose to speak of her own very different and relaxed relationship with female friends. The point is made all the more strongly by using the familiar icon as a point of departure. This is neither an obsessed male view or a lesbian homosexual one, but rather more unusually, but signicantly in terms of feminist history, simply one of recording a friend enjoying herself in a very private and intimate way. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.673-1993 |
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Record created | May 16, 2006 |
Record URL |
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