John Aldridge RA (1905 – 1983)
Still Life with Globe Painted at El Porche, Dejà, Mallorca 1932
Oil on Board
74 x 62 cm
Signed ‘John Aldridge’ lower right, inscribed ‘Deja 32’ lower left, and titled to reverse.
A British oil painter, designer of wallpapers and textiles, book illustrator, art teacher and enthusiastic plantsman, John Aldridge was born in Woolwich, England, and grew up in a comparatively wealthy military family. After reading Greats at the University of Oxford, Aldridge graduated in 1928 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, settling in London and teaching himself to paint. Invited by Ben Nicholson, Aldridge joined artists such as Hepworth, Moore and Piper in the ‘Seven and Five Society’ with whom he held his first mixed exhibition in 1931. Despite being based in London during this time, Aldridge made excursions to Paris, Germany, Italy, Tenerife and Mallorca. As a dear friend of the poet Robert Graves, the two spent endless holidays together in Mallorca near Deià, Graves having a house there which can be visited to this day. This work is inscribed ‘Deyà 32’ in the lower left corner, thus it is likely that it was painted during one of these periods. Exhibitions held with the ‘Seven and Five Society’ at Leicester Galleries in this period lead to numerous other exhibitions of his work, both with the ‘Seven and Five Society’ and otherwise. Aldridge was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1954, then a full member (RA) in 1963. Despite this, during his later years Aldridge’s art went out of fashion, his somewhat nostalgic works out of style with the arrival of the swinging 60s and 70s that treated old England as an abomination that needed to be forgotten. Since then, Aldridge’s art has been brought back into the eyes of the fine arts industry and recognised as it deserves.
True to Aldridge’s diverse output, this work reflects the rapid-spreading modernist movement of the early twentieth century. It mimics Cézanne’s dual perspective, looking down yet looking forwards. The technique encapsulates the human experience of multiple viewpoints while simultaneously creating a sense of instability. The globe, often associated with knowledge, exploration and a symbol of human control over the world, is juxtaposed with the wilting pot plant, a motif of the transience and uncontrollability of nature. On account of the unsteadiness, the globe appears precarious, teetering on the edge of the table, while the plant stands firmly in the centre, perhaps signifying that nature is ultimately more dominant that a futile human attempt at control over the world. Although the objects appear simple or mundane, Aldridge uses this altar-like setup, pedestalling them to encourage the viewer to contemplate objects which would otherwise go unnoticed. The objects themselves are traditional, the globe a contemplative symbol shared with Holbein’s ‘The Ambassadors’, yet Aldridge follows in the footsteps of the emerging modernists, breaking the mould through perspective and abstraction, opening an opportunity for reception theory; the meaning of the painting changes and evolves for each new spectator.
His art is in major public collections such as the Tate, the British Council, the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden, which specialises in East Anglian pictures, has a significant holding of his work.
Condition: generally very good. Distressed frame with occasional loss, and board slightly bowed.
