A Corner of the Artist's Room in Paris
Date Made/Found: 1907-1909
, British, 1876 - 1939
Material and Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Frame: 463 x 411 x 84mm (18 1/4 x 16 3/16 x 3 5/16in.)
Sight size: 317 x 267mm (12 1/2 x 10 1/2in.)
Department: Visual Art
Accession Number: VIS.2576
This is a painting of Gwen John's attic studio in the rue du Cherche-Midi in Paris. John lived in Paris from 1904 and earned a living as an artist’s model, posing for the sculptor Auguste Rodin who was also her lover.
The sparsely furnished room appears in a number of her paintings during this period and acts as a self portrait. The picture was painted at the time that John’s affair with Rodin was coming to an end and the empty chair might suggest his absent presence.
The outside world is hinted at through a few of John’s possessions such as the vase of flowers, umbrella and coat.
‘My room is so delicious after a whole day outside, it seems to me that I am not myself except in my room.’ Gwen John
Display Location:
Graves Gallery
