John Bellany
Born – Port Seton, Scotland 1942
John Bellany attended Edinburgh College of Art, moving to London in 1965 to study at the Royal College of Art. The underlying themes of his paintings have remained consistent throughout his artistic career. From his earliest work he has portrayed the environment of his youth in potent images of fishermen, the sea and the myths and characters populating the tight-knit community of the harbour. His Calvanistic upbringing imbues his art with a reverence for religious belief, which is narrated via compositions that speak of morality and of good and evil. Following years of self-destruction in the 1970s, revealed in paintings full of angst, Bellany survived a liver transplant operation in 1988. Subsequent work reveals a renewed zest and vitality. It celebrates a spiritual, physical and artistic rebirth in vibrant watercolours, glowing canvases and lyrical etchings and drawings. Allegorical diptychs and triptychs recur in Bellany’s more recent work, which reflects the artist’s voyage through life. These visual metaphors are “odysseys” convesyed in rich, poetic, visual language. The Bride, the Oyster and the Singing Red Fish typified Bellany’s subject matter, skilled painterly techniques and the debt he owes to the stylistic influence of Max Beckmann.
Masterpieces:
- Celtic Feast
- Lovers by the Sea
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About john bellany
John Bellany
John McEwen
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John Bellany: Printmaker
D. Macmillan
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JOHN BELLANY: PRINTS, DRAWINGS AND WATERCOLOURS 1970-1993.
No author.
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