'August 1956 (Val d'Orcia)', Ben Nicholson OM

Artwork details

Artist

Ben Nicholson OM (1894‑1982)

Title

August 1956 (Val d'Orcia)

Date 1956

MediumOil paint, gesso and graphite on board

Dimensionssupport: 1220 x 2135 x 3 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Purchased 1965

Reference

T00742

On display at Tate Britain

Theme: BP Walk through British Art

Room: 1950

Display caption

The Val d'Orcia is not far from Siena (a favourite place for Nicholson) and while this Italian title is bracketed, it would seem to relate to the fresco-like, rubbed down surface of the painting and the warm landscape colours, although the artist did not intend a direct association. Nicholson often returned to table-top still-lifes, a legacy of Cubist composition which had inspired him since the mid twenties. During this period his compositions frequently spread out laterally across the picture plane. Also characteristic is the depiction of objects on the table in overlapping outline, with accents of colour to suggest solid form… (read more)

August 2004