A selection of the works on show in John Bellany: A Passion for Life. Select the OPEN links to read more about a work, and select the image to enlarge it.
This large painting is based on scenes that Bellany knew from childhood onward- the building of fishing boats in Port Seton where he grew up, and in Eyemouth, further down the coast, where he spent idyllic summer holidays with his grandparents. His mother’s grandfather owned a boatyard there.
1967
Bellany painted images of fishermen at sea in their boats again and again. It was a subject he knew intimately from his childhood, since his father and most of his male relatives were fishermen. It was also an elemental subject full of potential symbolism, both sacred and profane. In this work, painted while he was at the Royal College of Art in London, Bellany adopts the three-figure composition, redolent of the Crucifixion.
about 1973
This is one of the few occasions when Bellany used meat (instead of fish) as a symbol, with the huge joint being presented as a bed to emphasise carnal desire. The idea of using meat as a couch may have been suggested by Francis Bacon’s surreal juxtaposition of a carcass of beef and modern furniture in Painting, 1946 (collection MoMA, New York).
1972
Every birthday Bellany paints a self-portrait. On this, his thirtieth birthday, usually seen as being a particularly significant threshold event, Bellany depicts himself wearing what looks like a shroud, with a skeletal rib cage depicted over the chest. There is more than a passing resemblance to the famous monument to John Donne of 1631 in St. Paul’s Cathedral. The sculptor, Nicholas Stone the Elder, famously depicted the poet wearing his shroud.
1966
In this portrait of his father Bellany has paid close attention to the weather-beaten features of the sitter's head and hands in reference to his profession as a fisherman. They are the most worked-up and detailed parts of the composition. Their vivid orange tonality stands out against the blue of the overalls, jumper and painting.
about 1986
The name ‘Bonaventure’, meaning good fortune, is a common name for boats and ships. Here a boat bearing its name carries the artist holding up a cockerel’s mask in front of his face, accompanied by a squawking seagull, a skate, some playing cards and a clock. The work is painted in the measured manner of most of Bellany’s pictures from this period.
1998
In general, one can say that after his successful liver operation in 1988 Bellany moved more and more towards a more accepting, less guilt-ridden view of the world. Especially after his visit to Mexico in 1995-96 and the purchase of his home in Tuscany in 1998, he painted more scenes of life’s pleasures. His palette became warmer and richer and his application of paint less aggressive.
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