Title: The Artist's Piano: Parisian Self-Portraits by Hugh Ramsay (1877-1906)
Abstract: In 1918 the Fine Art Society held an exhibition of the Australian artist Hugh Ramsay's work in Melbourne, in which a number of self-portraits - including the 'Portrait of the Artist Standing before Easel' - were displayed amongst the selected works. In the catalogue essay, Edward Vidler wrote in relation to the range of work on view: 'it is scarcely thinkable, with the evidence of his actual work before us, that he would have been content, like many of even the recognised masters, to repeat himself continuously either in the subjects or treatment of his canvases.' Ramsay's enduring interest in the subject of the studio piano and his various interactions with it as an artist - be it formally, as a visual motif, or symbolically - thus deserve our consideration. This article will explore the role of the piano in three paintings Ramsay made during his time in Paris (a fifteen-month period from January 1901 onwards) and which are now held in the National Gallery of Victoria: 'Portrait of the Artist Standing before Easel', 1901/1902; 'Self-portrait (Smoking in Front of Piano)', 1901/1902; and ('Interior of Artist's Studio'), 1901. As renowned Ramsay scholar Patricia Fullerton has noted, throughout his career, 'Ramsay had often sketched and painted himself. However, the many self-portraits done in his Paris studio reflect a new level of critical self-analysis and introspection.' Ramsay's interest in painting himself within his studio, and also in painting his studio itself - the site of his creative production - is both characteristic of the period and demonstrates an engagement with contemporary discourses about 'the status of the 'modern' artist' and 'the studio as the mirror of the artist and his works.' Art historian Rachel Esner explores this topic in depth, acknowledging the recent surge of scholarly interest in self-portraits, artists' studios and identity construction. Her 2011 article 'Presence in Absence: The Empty Studio as Self-portrait' argues that in the hands of many nineteenth- and twentieth-century artists, such images 'may be said to be visual manifestations of the ideology of artistic autonomy.' In light of this, and considering Ramsay's musical interests and abilities in relation to place and artistic context, this article will analyse the ways in which Ramsay portrays music as an integral part of his studio practice and propose that the piano is used as a visual device to fashion a particular artistic identity, akin to the position adopted by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) and others at this time.
Publication Year: 2018
Publication Date: 2018-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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