I looked at paintings in the genre of domestic interiors by searching Tate and Art UK online resources.
The genre first came about in the 17th Century and tends to depict scenes of domestic life with or without people. Many of the earlier paintings tend to have a sense of historical record and depict people in their normal setting unposed or minimally, such as you would gain from photo journalism in this era. However I noticed in my searches that there does not appear to have been many changes to this composition the 3 paintings below are examples from different centuries but with very similar qualities:
Egbert Van Heemskerk II, Interior, 1634/1635 – 1704 (Oil on canvas)
Theodore Matesfdorf, Interior, 1888 (Oil on canvas)
Edward Le Bas, Interior, 1951 (Oil on board).
As many paintings in this genre depict domestic scenes without any people, but with a suggestion of their presence, but also capturing a quality about the setting such as architectural or ornamental element, or the play of light for instance. Again these themes cross different eras, as can be scene in the examples below:
Francois Bonvin, Interior, 1817 – 1887 (Oil on canvas). In this painting there is evident of people through the empty wine bottles and upturned bowl.
Vanessa Bell, Interior, 1879 – 1961 (Oil on canvas). In this painting the subject extends to what is outside of the room and the view beyond, the open window is evidence of someone within the room and the viewer is invited into the room to look out.
Diana Cowdy, Interior, 1968 (Oil on canvas). This painting at first draws attention to the ornate fireplace, but as you look around you see clothing on the bed, a chair and even portraits on the wall which all evidence the presence of people.
Most paintings I looked at portrayed a setting as if capturing a moment in time, they did not appear overly posed and mostly drew out interesting dynamics whether within the room itself or between the characters and the scene or in their apparent simplicity as if encouraging the viewer to take a closer look at the everyday.
In terms of composition most views taken by the artists tended to be straight on, as if the viewer is participating or present in the room, for example in the image below:
Margaret Ann Lemon, Interior, 1967 – 1973 (Oil on canvas)
Other artists use a more elevated view which gives a more stage scene quality as in the next painting:
A Quigley, Interior, 1978 (Oil on board).
With regards to view and composition, this has made me think again about my last exercise in this part of the course and whilst I liked the more elevated view I do like the greater intimacy of the straight on view, it feels more as if the scene has been captured rather than staged which I feel is more in keeping with the genre.
I also looked through the reading material for this course and found another artist whose drawings capture interior spaces from a different perspective to those I found in my earlier search. Toba Khedoori’s drawing seem to focus just on one or two elements of the interior space rather than the whole scene thereby removing the element of habitation or interaction with people. They also become much more clinical in their appearance and the focus becomes on the structure and space.
Some examples below:
Toba Khedoori, Unititled (Doors), 1999 (Oil and wax on paper)
Toba Khedoori, Untitled (Rooms), 2001 (Oil and wax on paper)
Toba Khedoori, Untitled (Table and chair), 1998 (Oil and wax on paper)
I found myself quite taken in by the subtlety and simplicity of these drawings, I also like the way that the drawings occupy a small, central part of the larger piece of paper. I am unsure as to how this will influence my own art at this time, but I would like to explore this more in my assignment for part 2.
Deborah McAulay 