John Bellany
John Bellany, b. 1942. Artist (Self-portrait) (with Alan Davie, b. 1920)Dated 1983During the mid-1980s, John Bellany increasingly focused on portraiture as a creative outlet. Rather than achieving as close a likeness as possible, Bellany’s portraits are vibrant visual statements that often say something about himself as well as the sitter. Not surprisingly, the self-portrait is central to the artist’s oeuvre. In this image, the artist – on the right – and fellow artist Alan Davie seem compressed by magical symbols, which play a large role in both men’s work. This double portrait is the homage of one artist to another; just as Bellany's paintings have inspired the younger generation of Scottish artists, so did Alan Davie's before that inspire Bellany's generation. Yet it is also a painting where the two artists, side by side, watch us, the public, inspect their work.
- Accession no. PG 2632
- Medium Oil on canvas
- Size 213.30 x 165.00 cm
- Credit Purchased 1984
John Bellany (Scottish, born 1942)
Bellany was born in the fishing village of Port Seton, near Edinburgh. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art and at the Royal College of Art, London. His work of the 1960s and 1970s deals with original sin, guilt, sex and death. His characteristic paintings are large compositions featuring his own personal symbolism, often derived from the sea and from religion, two elements that dominated his childhood. The flawed nature of humanity is usually central to his paintings. Bellany became seriously ill in the 1980s and underwent a liver transplant operation in 1988, after which his work became more optimistic in mood.