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Actions Displays	The Gates of Death Remove from selection Add to selection Reproduction Download mediaDownload as zip file Object number19882 TitleThe Gates of Death Creator John Bellany, (b1942) (Artist)‎ DescriptionThe Gates of Death was painted in 1969 by John Bellany, a Scottish figurative artist regarded as one of the finest in his generation. He was born in Port Seton, a fishing village near Edinburgh. In the 1960s he studied at Edinburgh College of Art and then later at the Royal College of Art in London. Growing up, Bellany was exposed to the harsh life and strict moral standards of the largely Presbyterian ¬fishing community. Their superstitions, myths and traditions never left him. Bellany suffered poor physical and mental health throughout his life and his experiences are reflected in the themes of his work: life and death, good and evil, hope and fear. We feel his unease in The Gates of Death. It was painted shortly after Bellany and two friends visited Buchenwald concentration camp in East Germany. It had a profound impact, his despair in the inhumanity of man reflected in his work. Here, the central figure is enveloped in the bedclothes, a weary stare hinting at the inevitability of death. An owl and a parrot perch on the bedposts: the owl viewed as a harbinger of death; the parrot a common motif in Bellany’s work – he had plastic ones dotted around his studio. Religion is present in the nun-like figures hovering over the deathbed; their dark habits contrast with the warmth of the ochre wall; a faint crucifix is just visible. Bellany taught at several art colleges during his career and influenced generations of artists. His paintings are held in public collections across the world. He died in 2013 after many years of ill health, with paintbrush in hand, an artist to the end. Production date 1969 Object namePainting, Oil Painting Painting MaterialOil/Canvas Dimensions image Height: 1890 mm image Width: 1545 mm frame Height: 1865 mm frame Width: 1525 mm

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Download mediaDownload as zip file

Object number19882

TitleThe Gates of Death

Creator John Bellany, (b1942) (Artist)‎

DescriptionThe Gates of Death was painted in 1969 by John Bellany, a Scottish figurative artist regarded as one of the finest in his generation. He was born in Port Seton, a fishing village near Edinburgh. In the 1960s he studied at Edinburgh College of Art and then later at the Royal College of Art in London. Growing up, Bellany was exposed to the harsh life and strict moral standards of the largely Presbyterian ¬fishing community. Their superstitions, myths and traditions never left him. Bellany suffered poor physical and mental health throughout his life and his experiences are reflected in the themes of his work: life and death, good and evil, hope and fear. We feel his unease in The Gates of Death. It was painted shortly after Bellany and two friends visited Buchenwald concentration camp in East Germany. It had a profound impact, his despair in the inhumanity of man reflected in his work. Here, the central figure is enveloped in the bedclothes, a weary stare hinting at the inevitability of death. An owl and a parrot perch on the bedposts: the owl viewed as a harbinger of death; the parrot a common motif in Bellany’s work – he had plastic ones dotted around his studio. Religion is present in the nun-like figures hovering over the deathbed; their dark habits contrast with the warmth of the ochre wall; a faint crucifix is just visible. Bellany taught at several art colleges during his career and influenced generations of artists. His paintings are held in public collections across the world. He died in 2013 after many years of ill health, with paintbrush in hand, an artist to the end.

Production date 1969

Object namePainting, Oil Painting

Painting

MaterialOil/Canvas

Dimensions

image Height: 1890 mm
image Width: 1545 mm
frame Height: 1865 mm
frame Width: 1525 mm