Art Collections Online
A Corner of the Artist's Room in Paris
JOHN, Gwen (1876 - 1939)
Date: 1907-9
Media: oil on canvas
Size: 31.2 x 24.8 cm
Acquired: 1995; Purchase; with assistance of Derek Williams Trust / Estate of Mrs J. Green
Accession Number: NMW A 3397
Gwen John attended the Slade School of Fine Art in London between 1895 and 1898, and studied briefly in Paris. In 1903, she accompanied Dorelia McNeill, soon to be her brother Augustus's lover and muse, on a walking tour through France. By the beginning of 1904, she had settled in Paris, where she earned a living by modelling. She lived on the top floor of 87 rue du Cherche-Midi between 1907 and 1909. This sparsely furnished room appears repeatedly in work of this period. The empty chair, discarded clothes and open book suggest the artist's invisible presence, and the painting conveys much about her life, a sense of controlled passion, of order, quiet and absolute calm.
Comments - (9)
Hi there Julia
Thanks for your enquiry. The painting you describe is not part of our collection I'm afraid. Gwen John is known for painting multiple versions of the same scenes, so you might have seen one of these. I will contact one of our curators to ask if they could direct your enquiries any further.
All the best
Sara
Digital Team
Hello, I have a photograph of a very similar painting by Gwen John but instead of the book on the table there is a small bunch of primroses (or other yellow flowers) and the window is not open, and there are light white curtains, not a view outside as the one in Cardiff. Please let me know where the one I describe is and whether it can be seen. Thank you so much in advance.
Julia Yemin
Hi there Susanna
Thanks for your comment. I will ask our Curators if it is currently on display and get back to you.
Many thanks
Sara
Digital Team
i would like to see the painting "corner of a room in paris" by gwen john in original.
where do we have to go to? which of the welsh museums?
thank you!
Can you help me in this search?
Barbara Jack
Thank you for your interest in Amgueddfa Cymru