Sold for: $43,250

PROVENANCE
Marlborough-Godard, Toronto
Private Collection, Toronto

LITERATURE
Dennis Reid, A Concise History of Canadian Painting, third edition, 2012, pages 298 and 365

Jean McEwen takes his title from the evocative tone poem written by Austrian composer Gustav Mahler at the beginning of the twentieth century. Mahler’s rich musical score is echoed in the resonant colours of McEwen’s composition. The deeply layered earth colours in the central part of the work suggest the dense forms of the earth, and the vibrant reds on each side of the composition evoke the lava of the earth’s molten core. The sheer complexity of McEwen’s surfaces is seen when one compares the thinly painted lower section of the canvas with the denser upper section, which seems to descend across the canvas. McEwen provides a sense of narrative but it is a narrative that we, the viewer, must complete. If the earth moves in this work, it is a movement that we must find for ourselves. McEwen’s surfaces were variously described by the late art historian Dennis Reid as “burnished to the texture of old leather” and “transparent, vaporous concentrations of radiant colour”; both texts evoke Das Lied von der Erde. However, perhaps Reid’s most telling words are that “McEwen sought a rich, patina-like resonance in his work,” a phrase which completely applies to this vibrant painting.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars