Balthus (1908-2001) was a Polish-French artist whose artworks largely portrayed erotically charged depictions of pubescent girls, whilst instilling a refined, dream-like quality. he was inspired by classical painters such as Piero Della Francesca ad Goya, whilst his technique is formed based on renaissance paintings. Although Balthus insisted that his paintings were not created with erotic intentions, he instead insisted that they recognised the discomforting facts of children's sexuality: 'alluring and disturbing'. Although my paintings do not portray any erotic connotations, the fine line created in Balthus' work between alluring and discomforting is something I wish to pursue in my own artworks. My ambiguous domestic scenes are littered with common household objects that the viewer themselves may have owned at one point in their lives, thus forming a sense of the familiar for the audience, placing their comfort in these items. Upon closer inspection however other disturbing items such as the knife and bloody yellow gloves in 'Prey' can be found. This, therefore, stimulates the same sense of tension found within Balthus' paintings, whilst also following the Renaissance style of painting technique.
^ 'Thérèse', 1938, Oil on Cardboard ^ 'Thérèse Dreaming', 1938, Oil on Canvas
Comments