About this artwork
This etching belongs to a series of portraits Bellany made that return to the imagery of Port Seton, the small fishing community where he grew up, and the sea. Many of them are linked to his second wife, Juliet, and her death in 1985. Here we see a portrait of Juliet with what appears to be a crustacean of some form, possibly a lobster, on her head. Sea creatures feature heavily in Bellany’s oeuvre as he exploits their symbolic attributes. ‘Étoile’, is French for star, perhaps a reference to Juliet’s untimely death.
Updated before 2020
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artist:John Bellany (1942 - 2013) Scottish
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title:Étoile
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date created:Dated 1986
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materials:Etching on paper (3/25)
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measurements:33.20 x 24.50 cm (paper 53.60 x 37.70 cm)
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1986
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accession number:GMA 2998
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gallery:
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subject:
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...