Artworks
As Três Graças [The Three Graces]
painting
Date
c. 1930
Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
162,5 x 129 cm
Although undated, this painting by Francis Smith (also known as - Women in the Garden
) points to his portrait production from around 1915-20 (according to historian Jorge Costa).
Unrelated to the mythological story of the - Three Graces
(apart from the present alternative title), this composition shows three young women in a green corner of some private garden, revealed by the presence of a table set with a lace-edged towel, where a plate with fruit (a still life) rests, as well as an elegant solitary on which a young woman (probably a portrait of Yvonne Mortier, the artist's wife) places a camellia. Plus, from the back of the composition, another female figure is approaching the centre of the scene, perhaps a maid, judging by the white cap and the tray she carries.
Experiencing a somewhat ethereal moment of tranquillity, these three young women do not seduce the viewer, nor do they fight each other for attention. Their serene presence is corroborated by the expression of their faces and bodies and by the light emanating from the different shades of white of their dresses that stand out from the deep density of greens. The viewer's eye is drawn by the warm colours of flowers and fruits; it is drawn to the roof of the garden shed, then to Yvonne's head and the camellia she lays in the solitary, and advances to the bouquet of flowers and the heads of the other two young women. The warm colours of the fruits pull us back to the base of the composition, revealing in the women's relaxed poses, the clear distinction of a suspended time well away from mythic tensions. Indeed, these are simple and sure women in a garden.
EF
) points to his portrait production from around 1915-20 (according to historian Jorge Costa).
Unrelated to the mythological story of the - Three Graces
(apart from the present alternative title), this composition shows three young women in a green corner of some private garden, revealed by the presence of a table set with a lace-edged towel, where a plate with fruit (a still life) rests, as well as an elegant solitary on which a young woman (probably a portrait of Yvonne Mortier, the artist's wife) places a camellia. Plus, from the back of the composition, another female figure is approaching the centre of the scene, perhaps a maid, judging by the white cap and the tray she carries.
Experiencing a somewhat ethereal moment of tranquillity, these three young women do not seduce the viewer, nor do they fight each other for attention. Their serene presence is corroborated by the expression of their faces and bodies and by the light emanating from the different shades of white of their dresses that stand out from the deep density of greens. The viewer's eye is drawn by the warm colours of flowers and fruits; it is drawn to the roof of the garden shed, then to Yvonne's head and the camellia she lays in the solitary, and advances to the bouquet of flowers and the heads of the other two young women. The warm colours of the fruits pull us back to the base of the composition, revealing in the women's relaxed poses, the clear distinction of a suspended time well away from mythic tensions. Indeed, these are simple and sure women in a garden.
EF