Self-portrait

You know that we focus on promoting women artists forgotten by art history, right? Time to introduce a very talented Welsh artist.  :)

Gwendolen Mary John worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although she was overshadowed during her lifetime by her brother Augustus John and her lover Auguste Rodin, her reputation has grown steadily since her death.

Gwen John's art, in its quietude and its subtle color relationships, stands in contrast to her brother's far more vivid and assertive work. Though she was once overshadowed by her popular brother, critical opinion now tends to view Gwen as the more talented of the two. Augustus himself had predicted this reversal, saying "In 50 years' time I will be known as the brother of Gwen John."

Her surviving oeuvre is comparatively small, comprising 158 known oil paintings that rarely exceed 24 inches in height or width. The majority are portraits, but she also painted still lifes, interiors, and a few landscapes. She wrote, "...a cat or a man, it's the same thing ... it's an affair of volumes ... the object is of no importance."

P.S. Here you can read about Gwen John's Parisian life and works.  :)

P.P.S. If you want to learn more about women artists check out our Women Artists Notebook (filled with their works) here.