Neither roses and lillies — briony anderson

2019
Paintings/
neither roses and lillies

^{neither roses and lillies/1, acrylic on canvas, 13 x 20 cm}

^{neither roses and lillies/2, acrylic on canvas, 13 x 20 cm}

^{neither roses and lillies/4, acrylic on canvas, 25 x 33 cm}

^{neither roses and lillies/6, acrylic on canvas, 26 x 30 cm}

Following ‘Studies for Raeburn’ which isolated the backdrops of portraits by Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), these works isolate small fragments from his portraits of women. ‘In representing beauty he always appeared to me to fail fearfully; his style of colouring, and his indefinite outline, caught neither the roses and lillies’. Privileging male portraits, focusing on their significance rather than on beauty is standard in literature of the time and beyond, limiting understanding of the artist’s output and influences.

¹Allan Cunningham, The Lives of Eminent British Painters, Sculptors and Artists (1829-33), (London, J. Murray, 1830-33) p. 222