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• Auction House:
  Mossgreen-Webb's
• Sale Name:
  Important Paintings & Contemporary Art
• Sale Date:
  11 Apr 2017 ~ 6.30pm (NZ time)
• Lot #:
  29
• Lot Description:
  Tony Fomison
  Portrait of the French Painter, Rouault
  oil on hessian, 1975
  370mm x 370mm
  signed Fomison and dated 1975 in brushpoint upper right, inscribed Portrait of the French Painter, Rouault in brushpoint lower left; inscribed #103 in brushpoint verso, #103 in ink verso, Webb's label affixed verso
• Provenance:
  Sold Webb's, 1995. Private collection New York.
• References:
  Wedde, Ian. Fomison - What Shall We Tell Them? City Gallery, Wellington 1994, p. 170
• Notes:
  Tony Fomison's portrait of 19th century painter Georges Rouault simultaneously conveys a tenderness in the imagined relationship between the artist and his subject and a sense of discomfort and spiritual malaise. Given the centrality of religious concerns to Fomison's own journey of spiritual conflict, one starting point from which to consider his portraiture practice and this work in particular, is the 16th century poem La Noche Oscura del Alma, or, the Dark Night of the Soul. The poem draws on a similar language of iconographic religiosity, and can be engaged with as something of a revelatory text when considering the canon of prophets, icons and artists which Fomison referenced in the production of portraits such as these. Fomison's exploration of the human condition as borne out through portraiture also included depictions of such other artistic forbearers as William Blake and Thomas Gainsborough. These works possess a compositional tension: he consistently breaks with convention to present a close-up view of his subject's visage through the confines of an alternative frame (often diamond or circular). Virtuous in the intimacy of its likeness, the hessian painted surface of this particular portrait of Rouault breathes life and possesses a certain visceral, rawness. Finally, the choice of subject for this portrait calls attention to the parallel philosophical and aesthetic remit of both artists. Georges Rouault's artistic journey was also underpinned by something of an existential and spiritual dilemma: a 'moral' crisis following the death of his teacher Gustave Moreau, which eventually translated to the development of a distinctly expressionistic style including (in the same spirit as Fomison), grotesque and absurd depictions of jesters and circus characters. This portrait is therefore testament to an affinity of artistic connection which transcended the passing of centuries. RACHEL KLEINSMAN
• Estimate:
  NZ$35,000 - 45,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.