The Kenning family
ABOUT THE PAINTING
This painting was commissioned in mid June 2000 and was completed two months later. It is oil on canvas and measures 48 inches by 36 inches.
ARTISTS VIEW
George Underwood says, 'I believe portraiture should try to reveal more about the sitter than just a faithful likeness. It should attempt to capture the emotional forces and aspirations operating in someone's life. We look back at 500 year-old Renaissance portraits and find certain symbols which are clues to the psychological nature of the sitter. I would like to think that my paintings will hold that same fascination in years to come'.
THE GENRE...
George Underwood refers to the portrait as 'psycho-biographical', expressing the narrative of one's life in symbols, puns, references to unconscious memories, themes, desires and aspirations as well of fears. It is attempting to achieve what cannot be done by photography or mere portrait painting. It is in fact, following in the noble tradition of the genre first championed by the Italian Renaissance and followed up by many of the Dutch masters.
A CLIENT'S VIEW
I had a dream where my wife and I were being photographed with our cats who had become our daughters - they were dressed as girls. When I awoke, I thought, 'That's such an amusing, whimsical thought. I would love to create an image of that'.
I had known George for some time and put the commission to him. Over lunch, we realised just how much scope we had to tell a more complete story of 'my family'. And so we began to write a narrative for which we would choose the most appropriate clues and symbols - and took it from there.
Next, we spent a few hours selecting the period and ideas for the main visual compostion and themes. George planned the painting over the next few days presenting us with a miniature (which I love) to 'sign off on' before he started the canvas.
The theme is 'Quis Separabit?' This motto was used during WW1 by the Royal Irish Rifles for whom my grandfather fought. It means 'Who will separate?' The answer, we hope, is death and death alone. The painting is full of puns and symbols. One of the best is having a particularly unpleasant insect with two miniature heads on it - each one an obnoxious boss from each of our pasts. Now we have them where we want them - locked into eternity as an object of ridicule. The trapped rat is also a foe from the past - the name is spelt out along the tail.
I wanted Jimi Hendrix in - he played such an important part in my adolesence, but for George to paint him wearing blue suede shoes was a stroke of genius! The 17th Century philosopher, Spinoza, is a ghost in my life. I spent five years of my life researching his writings - he'll never leave me now. And best of all, in the background, is the place where we love to walk on holiday - the label on the wine bottle explains where it is.
Having trained as a psychoanalyst, I wanted the painting to have a slightly psychotic feel to it - much as a dream has - but not merely surreal. It is more coherent then a dream and in places its manifest content should be taken at face value. A work like this can never be exhaustive, but it is nevertheless a very real attempt to take stock. The photograph adjacent to the half-empty hour-glass was taken of Diana and I when we were students 25 years ago; it's quite poignant. I also love the atmosphere it evokes - and it's hard to be pompous with a cat looking over your shoulder!