Ben Nicholson

1932 (profile: Venetian red)

About this artwork

Nicholson turned towards abstraction in the early 1930s, developed through a profound love for cubist painting. This work is based upon a table-top still life, a favourite motif of Picasso and Braque. The legs can be seen below, with a jug and a mug on the top. The profile on the white rectangle is that of the sculptor Barbara Hepworth with whom Nicholson had recently started a relationship. The spotted rectangles in the painting may represent printed fabric that he was experimenting with at the time

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Ben Nicholson (1894 - 1982) English
  • title:
    1932 (profile: Venetian red)
  • date created:
    1932
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    122.50 x 90.60 cm; Framed: 129.20 x 97.80 x 6.20 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by H.M. Government from the Estate of Dr Elisabeth Swan and Dr Harold Swan, and allocated to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 2016
  • accession number:
    GMA 5552
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Ben Nicholson

Ben Nicholson