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Tuesday 7 October 2008

Self styled

Whitechapel at War: Isaac Rosenberg and his circle
Ben Uri Gallery, 108a Boundary Road. London NW8, until 8 June

Contrast both these self-images with the almost Old-Mastery self-portrait (but also painted in 1914), in which Rosenberg shows considerable skill in chiaroscuro and other traditional effects. It’s the most conventional and least immediate of the series, but it says a great deal by its reticence. Taken all in all, from highly finished to scraped-back (as if he had lost a skin), this sequence of self-portraits is quite remarkable. It sets the tone for the show: intense, semi-confessional and introspective. On the opposite wall is a trio of powerful female portraits, of which I particularly liked ‘Clare Winsten’, very drily brushed but oddly serene. ‘Portrait of Sonia’, a richer, more fleshly painting, is also less original, being reminiscent of Rosenberg’s friend Gertler.

Downstairs are two marvellous but rather frightening drawings by Gertler for his satirical masterpiece ‘The Merry-go-round’, one in red chalk, the other in charcoal on blue paper. Other contemporaries featured here include Horace Brodzky’s interesting Symbolist portrait of Gaudier-Brzeska (and Gaudier’s elegant drypoint of Brodzky), a couple of pencil drawings by Clare Winsten of Rosenberg portrayed on the diagonal with hair like flame, two military portraits by Jacob Kramer and two Meninskys of soldiers arriving on leave or departing. There are also more of Rosenberg’s self-portraits, including the poignant 1916 one in steel helmet, done in black chalk with touches of gouache on crumpled brown wrapping paper. A trio of Bomberg drawings includes a very fine one called ‘The Billet’ (1915), borrowed from the V&A, angular, threatening and densely worked in black ink. Among other notable things by Rosenberg are the lovely pencil drawing of Marda Vanne (1914), an oil on board from 1912 called ‘Trees’ (1912), in which electric touches of red and blue appear among the more expected greens and browns, and a delicate early drawing of the artist’s mother.

What a talent he had, though perhaps not a very experimental one. He recoiled from Futurism and was probably more innovative in his poetry, which shares the acute eye for visual detail, but also the ability to see the larger picture and not get overwhelmed with description. Despite his divided allegiances to pen and brush, Rosenberg was able to produce images from ‘the heart’s dear granary’ which continue to enthral and move us. The handsome accompanying catalogue is reasonably priced at £25 in hardback, containing several clearly written and informative texts and a wealth of reproductions.

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