Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Interior with Figures with Open Window Oil on canvas, 51 x 24cm (20 x 9.5'') Human beings and birds are gathered on the balcony of a large room, above the red roofs...

Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) Interior with Figures with Open Window Oil on canvas, 51 x 24cm (20 x 9.5'') Human beings and birds are gathered on the balcony of a large room, above the red roofs of a Mediterranean seaside village, giving a more light-hearted and festive mood than is common in many of Swanzy's imaginative paintings. Not only the people vary - from pretty and slender to oafish and comical, but also the birds range from realistic to sinister. In the centre of the picture a pretty young woman in white is seen in profile seated on a sofa. She is surrounded by a group of smiling, impish and infatuated men, as in a drawing by German expressionist George Grosz. She holds the chin of a man in black, and he reaches out to touch her lip. But a colourful bird perches on his shoulder, as if to warn the woman. Her profile is silhouetted against a potted plant, behind which a woman with a tray approaches, as a waitress in a hotel. To the right of the group a plump woman is seated in an armchair beside the balcony, dozing and attended by a tall wise bird. On the floor in the left foreground another pretty young woman in white is seated, and reaches out to other standing birds. A blue bird in the foreground tears at a fish, and a red and yellow parrot looks over the balcony. The square white houses and red roofs, and sunny bay, of a Mediterranean port can be seen below. Swanzy may have been remembering fragments of a social gathering in her childhood, a drunken party in a grand hotel, and visits to a Riviera town such as St. Tropez, or an Adriatic port which the artist visited after the First World War, perhaps combined with memories of children's books such as 'Dr. Doolittle'. The birds seem to be intelligent guardians to the fallible, foolish human beings. Not only the tall or colourful birds, but the varied treatment of the women, are striking. These include the aquiline profile of the woman in white, the understated but beautifully modelled head and arm of the woman on the floor (reminiscent of Max Beckmann's female figures) and the plump face of the woman dozing by the window. There is a sympathy and serenity to the drawing of her features, and an originality to the colours with which her face is painted. The dominant orange-red hue of the room may suggest the influence of Matisse's celebrated painting 'Red Interior'. But rather than aspiring to flatness or simplicity, Swanzy's interest in detail, and use of sweet colours: reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues and whites, achieves more an impression of activity and lightness. Julian Campbell, October 2008

View more View less