ATTRIBUTES OF THE MOON, 1947
Oil on board. 33¾ x 13¼in. (86.5 x 34.2cm.)
Inscribed with the artist's name, the title and date on the reverse.
Provenance
National Trust bequest.
Exhibited
London, Mayor Gallery 1947, (paintings) No. 20.
London, Redfern Gallery (Summer) 1947, No. 212.
Newlyn, Newlyn Art Gallery, 1961, No. 22.
Exeter, City of Exeter Art Gallery, 1972, No. 8.
Penzance, Newlyn Orion Gallery, 1976, No. 22.
A Goddess figure, formed from billowing clouds, stands upon a crescent moon. She wears a silver diadem and is framed by labial folds.
The female aspect of matter – philosophical mercury – is often depicted in alchemy as a queen or as the moon. The alchemical quest consists of separating primal matter into the male and female principles and their subsequent refinement and reunification. The outcome is the production of their magical child; the philosopher’s stone.