Beschreibung:

Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) A Standing Lady with Two Attendants Oil on board, 44 x 29cm (23.3 x 17.3'') Signed Swanzy depicts a tall elegant lady emerging from a doorway, accompanied by two small attendants with parasols. The woman's pretty face is glimpsed in profile, with red lips and long neck. On her head she appears to wear a half-veil, or perhaps a cloche hat and a blue and red scarf. She wears necklaces, a revealing low-cut dress and a pale ultramarine blue shawl around her elbows. She holds a small yellow bag in her hands, and her long full dress trails along the ground. Light falls on her shoulders, bosom and arms, to emphasize her feminine form. As in several Swanzy paintings narrow steps lead up to a tall doorway, from which white and yellow light emerges, suggesting a brightly lit interior within. The subject of the painting is not clear. Is the elegant lady dressed up for an evening at the theatre, emerging from the bright light into the night? Or is she 'a woman of ill-repute; leaving a building with her earnings?' Her two 'attendants' add to the mystery. They are like children in fancy dress, who hold tall Chinese-style parasols, one yellow, one red, above the woman's head to protect her. The left hand figure in yellow, with her Renaissance-style scarf or headdress, may be female. But with her leggings this is not clear. The right hand figure is more muscular and masculine. He has darker, Indian features, (incongruously with child's or girl's summer bonnet upon his head) and loose, Arab-style trousers - like a character out of the book '1001 Nights' Parts of the picture are sketchily painted, allowing the viewer to see the simple, nut assured drawing style characteristic of Swanzy, for example in the legs of the childs on the left, and the crisply drawn arms and hands of the woman and the right-hand figure. The predominant tonality of yellow, umber, ochre and white is enriched by touches of blues, plums, ultramarines and golds. Julian Campbell, October 2008 Mary Swanzy HRHA (1882-1978) A Standing Lady with Two Attendants Oil on board, 44 x 29cm (23.3 x 17.3'') Signed Swanzy depicts a tall elegant lady emerging from a doorway, accompanied by two small attendants with parasols. The woman's pretty face is glimpsed in profile, with red lips and long neck. On her head she appears to wear a half-veil, or perhaps a cloche hat and a blue and red scarf. She wears necklaces, a revealing low-cut dress and a pale ultramarine blue shawl around her elbows. She holds a small yellow bag in her hands, and her long full dress trails along the ground. Light falls on her shoulders, bosom and arms, to emphasize her feminine form. As in several Swanzy paintings narrow steps lead up to a tall doorway, from which white and yellow light emerges, suggesting a brightly lit interior within. The subject of the painting is not clear. Is the elegant lady dressed up for an evening at the theatre, emerging from the bright light into the night? Or is she 'a woman of ill-repute; leaving a building with her earnings?' Her two 'attendants' add to the mystery. They are like children in fancy dress, who hold tall Chinese-style parasols, one yellow, one red, above the woman's head to protect her. The left hand figure in yellow, with her Renaissance-style scarf or headdress, may be female. But with her leggings this is not clear. The right hand figure is more muscular and masculine. He has darker, Indian features, (incongruously with child's or girl's summer bonnet upon his head) and loose, Arab-style trousers - like a character out of the book '1001 Nights' Parts of the picture are sketchily painted, allowing the viewer to see the simple, nut assured drawing style characteristic of Swanzy, for example in the legs of the childs on the left, and the crisply drawn arms and hands of the woman and the right-hand figure. The predominant tonality of yellow, umber, ochre and white is enriched by touches of blues, plums, ultramarines and golds. Julian Camp