本·尼科尔森认领

Summary 1933 (milk and plain chocolate) is a large portrait-format painting in which circles, triangles and other forms float in the non-perspectival space of the two-tone brown ground which gives the work its subtitle. A sense of movement is created by the contrasting use of bright blue and red dots and the scored white lines which join the different elements in the composition. Unlike some of Nicholson’s other paintings from the same year (see, for example, 1933 [guitar] [Tate N05125 ] and Jan 27 1933 [Tate T07595 ]) which show the influence of Georges Braque (1882–1963) and follow the palette of early cubism, 1933 (milk and plain chocolate) reflected Nicholson’s more recent experiences in Paris where, as noted by the art historian Charles Harrison, ‘the work of [Alexander] Calder, [Jean] Arp and particularly [Joan] Mir ó provided a stimulus unlike any he had previously encountered’ (Harrison 1969, p.26). Harrison also related the circle forms in such works as 1933 (milk and plain chocolate) to Nicholson’s ‘aptitude and enthusiasm for ball games’ (ibid.). Along with comparable works made in the same year, such as 1933 (hibiscus) and 1933 (painting) which feature a similar palette and the scored lines, 1933 (milk and plain chocolate) precedes the artist’s relief works such as 1933 (6 circles) as well as later, more geometric compositions such as 1945 (composition) and 1945 (two circles) . In 1932 Nicholson had begun sharing a studio with the sculptor Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975) and the years 1932–4, and the works both artists produced during this time, are characterised by their close working and personal relationship. Shared motifs or techniques include the use of dots or circles (Lewison 1993, p.214); while for Nicholson Hepworth’s influence is visible in the lines etched into the gesso of works such as 1933 (milk and plain chocolate) that would develop into the three-dimensional, sculptural approach taken in his white relief series of paintings, such as 1934 (relief) 1934 [Tate T02314 ]. 1933 (milk and plain chocolate) was exhibited in the inaugural Unit One exhibition at the Mayor Gallery in London in 1934, which was organised by the artist Paul Nash and subsequently toured. This exhibition was the first showing of paintings and sculpture by a group of British artists explicitly dedicated to the modernist principles of abstraction or surrealism and works such as this provided the first glimpse of this type of modernist painting for many in Britain. The reception was often critical, however; writing about the exhibition Jan Gordon of the Observer , for instance, stated, ‘I cannot explain the title of this group of artists, sculptors and architects, for there appears to be little obvious unity or oneness about them’ and, of Nicholson’s work specifically, ‘imagination seems to have become little more than an unexciting ingenuity’ ( The Observer , 15 April 1934, p.16). Nevertheless, the exhibition has subsequently been recognised as a pivotal moment for the development of modern art in Britain, in which the works exhibited essentially introduced the way in which British artists were assimilating the varying styles, techniques and theories of continental painting and sculpture. Re-stagings of this group of works in 1978 at Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery and in 1984 at the Mayor Gallery, London both included 1933 (milk and plain chocolate) .

This picture exemplifies Nicholson's recurrent practice of using contrasting areas of flat, vibrant colour with a pale ground that has been scrubbed and distressed. The bright patches of red and yellow act as focus points, and perhaps bring to mind late landscapes by J.M.W. Turner, such as those in the next room, which are similarly 'centred' by bright points of the same colours. But Nicholson would primarily have had in mind the grid-like abstracts of Mondrian, whom he greatly admired. There is a remarkable consistency in the way that Nicholson formulated his abstract designs, from his first such exercises in the 1920s (such as the picture displayed elsewhere in this room)though to the 1950s and '60s.

This small abstract work painted in gouache on white wove paper dates from the end of Nicholson’s career. Compositionally it consists of a loosely geometric form, built up from four differently coloured and shaped blocks. Nicholson cropped the form to its edges and placed it centrally on the support, which creates a wide border. Black dominates but inset within the black area is an evenly proportioned parallelogram of bright blue. To the right are areas of red-brown and off-white. The work is mounted on textured, stone-coloured backing board and set within a box frame painted dark grey. In 1974 Nicholson moved to Hampstead, having returned to England from Switzerland where he had lived during the years 1958–71. Aged in his eighties he continued to work on reliefs, which had dominated his output in the 1960s, and produced many drawings. From March 1978 until his death in 1982, Nicholson focused on producing a large number of works on paper of modest dimensions. These small works were undertaken using Pentel felt pens, pencil, ink, gouache and oil. Many of these works, including June 1978 (group in movement) (reproduced in Lewison, p.125, fig.141) are based on still life objects, details of the jugs and mugs that appeared in his art over many years, for example in 1943–45 (St Ives, Cornwall) 1943–5 ( N05625 ). In these last works, though, the drawing is looser than it had been previously. Writing in 1992 of the late works, art historian and critic Norbert Lynton commented: ‘more and more one feels that the objects themselves stand for large and weightier themes and in some instances the finished work appears to be wholly abstract’ (Lynton, p.138). 1979 (blue) is one of the most abstract of this group of works. Characteristic of this period is Nicholson’s use of a limited range of strong colours, which accentuate contrasts in texture between different mediums. In T07779 the varying density of the area of black in particular, which Nicholson shaded unevenly with felt tip pen, contrasts strikingly with the evenness of the area of blue. Although black is the principal colour, the artist clearly identified blue as the most important within the work, given the title. Considering the diversity of materials used and their manner of application, Lynton has questioned whether these works should be considered as drawings or whether the artist intended them as miniature paintings (Lynton, p.138). The mount and box frame are characteristic of Nicholson’ practice and an integral part of the work. 1979 (blue) belonged to the artist and hung on the on the wall of his studio.

Nicholson spent June 1954 in Venice. Here he had a much-admired display of his work in that year's Biennale. This picture is apparently a memory of Torcello, the small island across the Lagoon from Venice famous for its Byzantine mosaics in the Cathedral. However, it is also well known for its fine restaurants, and Nicholson's picture appears to show some goblets and a caraffe on a table top. Still life occupied him throughout his career, just as it had his father. 'Torcello' was painted in St Ives after Nicholson's return from Italy.

Nicholson had first met Léonide Massine, the Russian choreographer and dancer, in London in 1927 during a tour of the Ballets Russes. Six years later, again in London, he twice saw Massine's Jeux d'Enfants with sets by Joan Miró. Finally, in the summer of 1934, with the encouragement of Adrian Stokes, the art and ballet critic, Massine asked Nicholson to design the set for a ballet based on Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. This design for a backdrop is one of three known studies Nicholson made for the ballet. Nicholson wrote to his estranged wife, Winifred, that Massine 'had made straight for exactly this business of clarté that you talk of. I have done it all except the costumes. There are 4 movements it is to Beethoven's 7 th symphony & I have 4 white reliefs & there is an abstract drop curtain. I find Beethoven's thought very fine…I like working with him' (quoted in Lewison 1993, p.219). Describing the reliefs, Nicholson wrote, 'They are white & should appear like a Greek temple; a slight distance out from the back of the stage - there are to be no wings but a pale grey curtain (as like "space" as possible) all round.' The inscription in the lower half indicating the stage is unique among the known pieces Nicholson produced for the project. The freehand geometric shapes and rough carving of the board are reminiscent of Nicholson's carved reliefs of 1933-34. The rectangles and circles are arranged to create a complex spatial play between planes. For example, the large central trapezium appears to lie on top of another geometric form , the edge of which is visible along the right side of the trapezium. Beneath this is another plane seemingly overlaid by all the upper elements. However, where the circle penetrating the trapezium sits in relation to these various planes is unclear. The linking of different forms of art within the project was in keeping with Nicholson's commitment as a founding member of Unit One , a small group of artists established in 1933, to interdisciplinary collaboration between the arts. In this context it is significant that in his letter to Winifred, Nicholson considered himself to be working as much with Beethoven and the medium of classical music as Massine and avant-garde ballet. In the end, Massine rejected Nicholson's designs on the grounds that the sketches meant nothing to him. Four years later in Monte Carlo the ballet's world premiere was given before heavily classicising sets designed by Christian Bérard. The work formerly belonged to Sir John Summerson, the architectural historian and the author of the first monograph on Ben Nicholson, published by Penguin Books in 1948. Summerson was married to Elizabeth Hepworth, sister of the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, who was Nicholson's second wife. Other works from the Massine Project include 1934 (first scheme for Massine ballet) (Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, reproduced Ben Nicholson 1993, p.147 and 219, cat.no.60 in colour) and 1934 (act-drop curtain for Beethoven 7 th symphony ballet) (private collection, reproduced Lewison 1993, p.146 and 219, cat.no.59 in colour).