ALCHEMICAL FIGURE, 1940
Watercolour and pencil. 13¼ x 6¾in. (34 x 17.6cm.)
Titled and dated lower left.
Provenance
National Trust bequest.
Tate Gallery Archive.
A standing male figure with the arms by the sides. Although different areas of the body are painted in different colours, indicating that she has been influenced by qabalistic notions of the association between body parts and the sephira of the Tree of Life, none of the colours in this work correspond to those required by any of the Four Colour Scales as taught by the Golden Dawn.
It must be remembered, however, that ceremonial magic is concerned with the personal development of the practitioner, rather than the simple propagation of received wisdom. In this work, which has the appearance of a sketch rather than a completed work, Colquhoun was engaged in personal research rather than illustrating occult colour theory
The work is unframed and has probably never been exhibited.