DOI issue:
No. 376 (July 1924)
DOI article:Sheringham, George: Glyn Philpot: Master craftsman
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21400#0024
GLYN PHILPOT: MASTER CRAFTSMAN
"HEAD OF NEGRO"
CHARCOAL DRAWING BY
GLYN W. PHILPOT, R.A.
" one man " exhibition of small oil paint-
ings by this student, but the interesting
fact about them was that they were not the
work of a student at all but of an arrived
painter ; and the merits of these paintings
were instantly recognised and acclaimed by
a considerable number of understanding
persons. Frankly romantic were these early
paintings, and with the freshness that is
always the delightful characteristic of the
painter who masters his medium while
young. Already they showed the hand of
the fine technician; indeed they made
some parade of virtuosity; and light-
hearted orgies of paint and medium were
frequent enough in them. The dignified
reserve of Mr. Philpot's later work shows
only an occasional trace of this dashing
past. In his early work one can see the
influence of the Venetians and of one or
two English artists whom, by the way, he
has since far surpassed. a o a
It is the influence of the great Spaniards,
however, that has been more enduring,
and, for a great many years now, Mr.
Philpot's work, especially in portraiture,
has shown us how deep an impression his
visits to Spain and studies of Spanish
painting have made on his imagination and
receptive mind. His two paintings : The
Italian Soldier, Nos. I and II (of which
the latter is here reproduced) are, in spite
4
of their subject and title essentially de-
scendants of the Spanish tradition. 0 a
I have not for years seen any picture of
Mr. Philpot's that is not instinct with
dignity : a product of his own mentality
and attitude to life, and not, I believe,
studied or sought. In modern painting this
is probably the rarest of all qualities ; we
can search the French exhibitions in vain
for any trace of it, though we may find
every other quality to excite our admiration.
However, in our own exhibitions there are
generally pictures which by their reserve
and dignity seem separated by an invisible
but none the less real barrier from their
neighbours—clever or inept as the neigh-
bours may be : pictures by Mr. Philpot
and to an equal degree those by Mr.
Nicholson seem to hang apart, as though
they had been conceived in another age.
There are certain other ways in which
Mr. Philpot gladdens us like an old master:
we get, fully, the three-dimensional sen-
sation in looking at his portraits—a sense
of the solid bulk of his models and the
reality of the space in which they stand or
sit. In this respect The Italian Soldier is
as convincing as an old master. Above all
things else, in my opinion, Mr. Philpot
gives us his best magic in his treatment of
a mouth in any head he does, whether it is
a modelled mask, a painting or a drawing :
in its subtlety and psychology it baffles all
our analysis—as we are baffled by a mouth
drawn by Holbein, a 0 a j
SANGUINE DRAWING BY
GLYN W. PHILPOT, R.A.
"HEAD OF NEGRO"
CHARCOAL DRAWING BY
GLYN W. PHILPOT, R.A.
" one man " exhibition of small oil paint-
ings by this student, but the interesting
fact about them was that they were not the
work of a student at all but of an arrived
painter ; and the merits of these paintings
were instantly recognised and acclaimed by
a considerable number of understanding
persons. Frankly romantic were these early
paintings, and with the freshness that is
always the delightful characteristic of the
painter who masters his medium while
young. Already they showed the hand of
the fine technician; indeed they made
some parade of virtuosity; and light-
hearted orgies of paint and medium were
frequent enough in them. The dignified
reserve of Mr. Philpot's later work shows
only an occasional trace of this dashing
past. In his early work one can see the
influence of the Venetians and of one or
two English artists whom, by the way, he
has since far surpassed. a o a
It is the influence of the great Spaniards,
however, that has been more enduring,
and, for a great many years now, Mr.
Philpot's work, especially in portraiture,
has shown us how deep an impression his
visits to Spain and studies of Spanish
painting have made on his imagination and
receptive mind. His two paintings : The
Italian Soldier, Nos. I and II (of which
the latter is here reproduced) are, in spite
4
of their subject and title essentially de-
scendants of the Spanish tradition. 0 a
I have not for years seen any picture of
Mr. Philpot's that is not instinct with
dignity : a product of his own mentality
and attitude to life, and not, I believe,
studied or sought. In modern painting this
is probably the rarest of all qualities ; we
can search the French exhibitions in vain
for any trace of it, though we may find
every other quality to excite our admiration.
However, in our own exhibitions there are
generally pictures which by their reserve
and dignity seem separated by an invisible
but none the less real barrier from their
neighbours—clever or inept as the neigh-
bours may be : pictures by Mr. Philpot
and to an equal degree those by Mr.
Nicholson seem to hang apart, as though
they had been conceived in another age.
There are certain other ways in which
Mr. Philpot gladdens us like an old master:
we get, fully, the three-dimensional sen-
sation in looking at his portraits—a sense
of the solid bulk of his models and the
reality of the space in which they stand or
sit. In this respect The Italian Soldier is
as convincing as an old master. Above all
things else, in my opinion, Mr. Philpot
gives us his best magic in his treatment of
a mouth in any head he does, whether it is
a modelled mask, a painting or a drawing :
in its subtlety and psychology it baffles all
our analysis—as we are baffled by a mouth
drawn by Holbein, a 0 a j
SANGUINE DRAWING BY
GLYN W. PHILPOT, R.A.