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Sex in Venice ... the making of Sickert
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent03.03.09
Paintings produced during Walter Sickert's life-changing visit to Venice have been brought together for the first time.
The works include a series of portraits of two prostitutes, La Giuseppina and La Carolina, who inspired his famous Camden nudes.
The exhibition of about 60 works at the Dulwich Picture Gallery argues that Venice was where Sickert "found himself".
Robert Upstone, a Tate expert who curated the show, said: "There have been Sickert shows before, but nobody has ever zeroed in on Venice. Yet his subsequent career was mapped out in Venice."
Sickert (1860-1942) made his name in the 1880s with scenes of music hall life that appalled some critics but were adored by the avant-garde.
But he was deemed to have lost his sparkle by the time he made his first visit to Venice in 1895. His position worsened when his infidelities prompted the end of his marriage to Ellen Cobden, a wealthy romantic novelist, and he was left destitute.
He began producing impressionist paintings of Venetian landmarks, but it was when bad weather forced him to work inside in the winter of 1903 to 1904 that he began to paint figures. "This is when he became the Sickert of Camden town with figures in interiors. He finds a line of discovery that he can follow for the next 40 years," Mr Upstone said.
Although he painted other characters, it was these two prostitutes to whom he returned. "What he loves about them is they are cheeky street women. They tell him lewd stories."
The work that followed remains influential a century later.
"It is a style that is still vibrant today, in the paintings of Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach. The gritty, grotty reality of life led to works such as Tracey Emin's bed," said Mr Upstone.
Sickert in Venice opens tomorrow and runs until 31 May with charge.
