Monday, July 7, 2014

John Luke


John Luke (1906 - 1975) was born in Belfast and some of you, like me, have never heard of him until today. This talented modernist landscape artist, muralist, sculptor, printmaker and figurative painter worked in a shipyard before taking night classes at the Belfast School of Art. After winning a scholarship and a prize in the following year he went to London to study fine art painting, drawing and sculpture. During WWII he gave painting a break and retired to a cottage in Co. Armagh, making a living as an art teacher.
Luke spent his final years in poverty, misery and solitude in a flat in Belfast and died in 1975. Isn't it ironic that the highest price paid at auction for one of his paintings in 1999 was around £41,500? His artwork appear in several public and private collections from the Ulster Museum to the Queen's University in Belfast. This is my tribute to John Luke, one of the most brilliant Irish artists I've ever heard of.

10 comments:

  1. Gosto sobretudo da cor. Não conhecia.
    xx

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  2. Tem um que de Bosch, mas talvez seja só eu a achar (diria que é das cores e estilo de representação do corpo humano). Desconhecia por completo, muito interessante e peculiar, sem dúvida!

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  3. Não aprecio o elemento naif no traço - detesto pintura naif - mas aquele primeiro quadro encheu-me as medidas. Quem nunca? Revi-me mesmo ali ahahahh. Não vejo nada de Bosch, na realidade, ok, talvez as cores mais garridas possam fazer lembrar alguns trabalhos do grande génio, mas as formas e o traço, nada a ver, a meu ver ehehehh.
    http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/

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  4. Nice! Thank you for making me discover this artist! :)

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  5. his work is awesome - absolutely love the colours! xx

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  6. This is a nice tribute to Luke c:
    His work is nice and colorful! Xx

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  7. These paintings are so neat, they have this medical touch to them but with much brighter colours then what would have been available back then. Plus it has this modern abstract twist, you always have such great taste in art. I love how you showcase artists :)

    Love Rhiannon
    HappyLeaps.blogspot.ca

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  8. Estas cores tem um quê de Willy Wonka x) não sou a maior fã deste tipo de trabalhos, mas gosto das cores. Aquele primeiro quadro dá-me aí uns ares da decapitação do João Baptista.

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