About this artwork
This triptych was exhibited at Bellany's postgraduate exhibition in 1965, when the artist was twenty-three years old. The layout of 'Allegory' derives from Grünewald's 'Isenheim' Altarpiece, but the subject matter is autobiographical. As a student, Bellany had a Saturday job gutting fish in Port Seton, a small fishing village south of Edinburgh. The setting of 'Allegory' is a mixture of Port Seton and Eyemouth (another fishing port), where Bellany's grandparents lived. The gutted haddock, displayed in the manner of the Crucifixion, become metaphors for suffering humanity; the passive fishermen replace Christ's family and the Roman soldiers. Bellany has given religious monumentality to a real-life scene.
Updated before 2020
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artist:John Bellany (1942 - 2013) Scottish
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title:Allegory
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date created:1964
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materials:Oil on hardboard (triptych)
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measurements:Panel one: 212.40 x 121.80 cm; Panel two: 213.30 x 160.00 cm; Panel three: 212.50 x 121.80 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1988
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accession number:GMA 3359
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
John Bellany
John Bellany
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 dealt with original sin, guilt, sex and death. His characteristic paintings are large compositions featuring his own...