LANDSCAPE WITH ANTIQUITIES (LAMORNA), 1950
Oil on canvas. 36 x 23¾in. (92 x 61cm.)
Inscribed on the reverse with the name of the artist, the title, the date and with the Paul label.
Provenance
National Trust bequest.
Now on loan to the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro.
Exhibited
London, RBA Galleries, 1950, No. 383.
London, WIAC, 1950, no. 11.
Cambridge, Heffer Gallery, 1953, no. 18.
Newlyn, Newlyn Art Gallery, 1961, No. 7.
Penzance, Newlyn Orion Gallery, 1976, No. 23.
Literature
Ratcliffe (2007) illus. b/w, pl. 64.
The area round Lamorna, West Penwith, Cornwall, has the richest density of prehistoric sites in the British Isles. Nowhere are you further than a short walk from some ancient or sacred site – a stone circle, standing stone, holy well, Celtic cross, Romano British village, iron-age fort, beacon hill, Logan stone or burial chamber. Those who are responsive to the physical environment and can sense its spirituality refer to the area as a ‘Landscape Temple’. Some report that a ley line runs through the area, along the valley that leads to Lamorna Cove and out to sea. Others sense accumulations of energy in the landscape or at ancient sites.
In this painting, Colquhoun has depicted a selection of antiquities in the landscape. The arrangement is fanciful and does not reflect the actual distribution on any physical map. Despite this, the composition not only enriches our sense of the physical landscape by including examples of the major prehistoric and Celtic monuments, but because the monuments have religious associations, it also enriches our understanding of the spiritual environment.
The interlocking square and rectangular forms on the right of the canvas and the red, tongue shaped form in the centre, are difficult to interpret.
Reference
Ratcliffe, E. Ithell Colquhoun. Mandrake, Oxford. 2007.