alb3663081

ARTHUR MELVILLE. COCK FIGHT

Cock Fight. Artist: Arthur Melville (British, 1858-1904). Dimensions: Sheet: 33 x 23 in. (83.8 x 58.4 cm). Date: 1900.
Nearly twenty years after he visited the Middle East, the Scottish painter Melville depicted a cockfight he had seen in Muscat, Oman, in 1881. Associated with the progressive "Glasgow Boys," the artist avoided romantic Orientalism and created muted effects using a distinctive "blottesque" technique. Inspired by the tonal paintings of Whistler and the formal qualities of Japanese prints, he applied large droplets of color, manipulated with sponge and brush, to suggest seated onlookers grouped around a colorfully dressed standing man. The two roosters that face off at center are rendered with abbreviated strokes of black and red touched with white. While the figures seem to melt together, the architectural setting provides structure, with a striking arched opening receding into shadows pierced by a bright rectangular window.

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Author: ARTHUR MELVILLE (1858-1904)

Title: COCK FIGHT

Caption: Cock Fight. Artist: Arthur Melville (British, 1858-1904). Dimensions: Sheet: 33 x 23 in. (83.8 x 58.4 cm). Date: 1900. Nearly twenty years after he visited the Middle East, the Scottish painter Melville depicted a cockfight he had seen in Muscat, Oman, in 1881. Associated with the progressive "Glasgow Boys," the artist avoided romantic Orientalism and created muted effects using a distinctive "blottesque" technique. Inspired by the tonal paintings of Whistler and the formal qualities of Japanese prints, he applied large droplets of color, manipulated with sponge and brush, to suggest seated onlookers grouped around a colorfully dressed standing man. The two roosters that face off at center are rendered with abbreviated strokes of black and red touched with white. While the figures seem to melt together, the architectural setting provides structure, with a striking arched opening receding into shadows pierced by a bright rectangular window.

Technique/material: watercolor on paper

Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit: Album

Image size: 3039 × 4254 px | 37.0 MB

Print size: 25.7 × 36.0 cm | 1196.5 × 1674.8 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: ARTHUR MELVILLE • DRAWINGS • EUROPE • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • PAPER • UNITED KINGDOM • WATERCOLOR ON PAPER • WATERCOLORS