JAMES HYMAN GALLERY

5 Savile Row
London W1S 3PD
Tel. +44 (0)20 7494 3857

info@jameshymangallery.com
 

Alan Davie (b.1920)
Ankh for the Serpents

Ankh for the Serpents by Alan Davie (b.1920)

Last  
Back to thumbnails
  Next
Picture Details:
Please scroll down for further information.

Alan Davie (b.1920)
Ankh for the Serpents

Oil on Panel
64 x 66.5 cms (25¼ x 26¼ inches)
1967

opus 0586A

Painted at the same time as one of Davie's greatest paintings of the mid 1960s, Improvisation on a Chagall Theme no. 4, Ankh for Serpents hasa similiar handling of paint, ranging from control to looseness, and careful drawing to chance drips. It also has the characteristic heightened colour of this period and spatially shares with the Chagall painting suggestions of interior as well as exterior space.

Ankh for Serpents is also typical in its combination of intense strong colour and its use of symbols, sharing these with another related painting Wheel for the Little Dragon (June 1965 - March 1967). Among these symbols the serpent has appeared throughout Davie's long career, whilst images of crosses and of the ankh are also recurrent.

In the present work the central motif also relates back to one of Davie's major works of the beginning of the decade Entrance for a Red temple no.1 of June 1960 in the collection of the Tate Gallery.

This item is sold.

Please click here if you wish to buy or sell a work by this artist.
 
 
Home | News | Artists | Exhibitions | Publications | About Us | Location | Contact Us