Paula Rego was of Portuguese origin, but chose to live and work in London. She was without doubt amongst my favourite late 20th C painters.
She died this last week at the age of 87.
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Her work is often described as 'unsettling'. Her use of rather bizarre looking dolls, rather than humans, goes through much of her work. In the studio shot above one can see many of them arranged for painting, and in the works below they all appear again.
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She was a good draughtsman, and her style of painting was strong and fluid; almost masculine in many respects . She preferred an expressionist approach rather than anything too realist. It is her subject matter and composition that stands her apart. She was an excellent colourist.
So, farewell Paula. We never met, but I'm sure I would have liked you. You leave the world a far better place thanks to your consistent hard work. Not many of us can claim that.
I had never heard of her, but I like her work.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth looking at her work on Google Images. She was a prolific worker.
DeleteThe figures are unusual but I really like them. Her paintings are original.
ReplyDeleteShe put a lot of thought into everything she did.
DeleteYes, as we have shared before, I like Paula Rego too. Her work reflects the Portuguese culture in which she grew up.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a big show of hers, maybe now there'll be one.
DeleteMalaga I believe i noticed my artist friend in Montpellier mentioned it the other day.
DeleteAh, I rather like unsettling artists. There is a lot to interpret in her paintings. Yes, good art and her death is a loss to the creative world.
ReplyDeleteYou can look at her work for ever, and never get tired of them.
DeleteHer figures are almost fantasy/fiction. Facial expressions are an odd mix. I'm sure there are messages in her art -- all way beyond me.
ReplyDeleteMuch of her work was based on Portuguese mythical tales. They probably don't mean a lot to us, but they would to the Portuguese!
DeleteI put a little Obit on my blog the day after she died - I thought her one of the 20th century greats too
ReplyDeleteYes, I noticed you'd mentioned her. She remains rather unknown to the 'general public', but was amongst the best. I'd love to own one of her works.
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