In this blog post, I will be analysing two artworks from the Tate Britain collection which I believe can and have an influence on future design.
I will be looking at two paintings by British surrealist artist Paul Nash, who was also one of the most influential landscape artists of the twentieth century. I have chosen these paintings as I believe that their artistic qualities can be employed and used as an inspiration for interior design practices.
The two artworks I will be discussing:
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1- Equivalent of the Megaliths, Paul Nash.
The first painting is Paul Nash’s ‘Equivalent of the Megaliths’, 1935. The title of the piece already suggests what the viewer will be looking at, ‘Megaliths’ are huge standing stones. A historical example of this would be the stones of Stonehenge. However, here the artist was influenced by the stones at Avebury in the Wiltshire downs.
Figure 1: Paul Nash, Equivalent of the Megaliths, 1935, oil on canvas, 457 x 660 mm, Tate Britain.
The space is inhabited by large objects in the foreground including two large columns which capture our eyes. The scene is set in a landscape, mountains make up the background. furthermore, in the background one can also see the Sillbury hill, a prehistoric location in Avebury. The muted colour palette creates a dream like scenery, a typical surrealist aesthetic quality. This is reinforced through the mellow light which creates a sort of blurred vision.
Paul Nash’s painting depicts modern thinking. This is successfully demonstrated through the contrast of old and new, bringing Britain’s “most advanced cultural objects with its most ancient” as stated at the Tate Britain. The geometric forms have similarities to sculptures in contemporary art but also represent prehistoric standing stones. By replacing the prehistoric stones with modern geometric shapes, Nash successfully combines the new and old. This juxtaposition of historic and modern is something we as designers can be influenced by when creating interiors.
Figure 2: The dining room at Monkton House, Elizabeth Whiting & Associates, photograph by Alamy Stock Photo.
Monkton House located in Chilgrove, West Sussex is a perfect example of a British 20th century house that embodies this surrealist idea of the vintage and modern. This home belonged to Edward James who contributed to the surrealist art movement through his patronage. In addition, Edward James also who helped Salvador Dali achieve the success and career that he has. In return, Dali helped Edward James design his house.
A room that successfully demonstrates the ideas discussed above, is the sitting room at Monkton House (see figure 2). I find that this room especially looks like it just came out of a surrealist painting. This is because of the colour palette and the different textures and shapes. Here, one can see how the owner played with different styles and times. The juxtaposition of furniture and art ranging from 1930s, the Regency and Victorian period creates an interesting and busy interior. The modern lip sofas were created by Dali and contrast with the Victorian sofa style padded walls. The floor is covered with a green carpet which at the time would have been very daring and unconventional.
Over the years, mixing antique and modern has become increasingly popular. I believe that this is successfully done when the contrast is done right as it makes a room more interesting. However, over doing it might create aesthetic clashes and imbalance in a room. Something that one can consider when doing choosing furniture from different centuries is to find a common denominator. This could be the wood type, the colour, the geometry or any other aspects of materiality.
2- Totes Meer, Paul Nash.
The second painting I will be analysing is Paul Nash’s ‘Totes Meer’ (Dead Sea), 1940-1. ‘Totes Meer’ is an oil on canvas was achieved during the first half of the Second World War and depicts the traumas and damage of the war. More specifically, it was inspired by the broken aircraft dump in Cowley, Oxfordshire. In the painting, the wrecked aircrafts are camouflaged with the sea, where one can see bits of planes and projecting wings which also create the waves. The angular shape of the planes creates an unsettling effect, reflecting the war period. Furthermore, the blue tinged palette creating a ghostly and almost grave yard of airplanes.
Figure 3: Paul Nash, Totes Meer, 1940-1, oil on canvas, 1020 x 1524 mm, Tate Britain.
In this painting, Paul Nash uses angular and jagged shapes in order to create an unsettling effect. The geometric shapes across the composition not only help convey the atmosphere but also create movement. In interior design one can apply this technique in numerous ways. Paul Nash conveyed these ideas in interior design through the bathroom (see figure 4) he created for Austrian Ballet dancer Tilly Losch in 1932. Through the different shaped and textured rectangles on the walls, the artist creates dynamism as there is a play with light. Furthermore, the blue tinted atmosphere of the room reminded me of ‘Totes Meer’.
Figure 4: Bathroom designed by Paul Nash for Austrian ballet dancer Tilly Losch, 1932 re-created in 1978, photograph by Julian Feary.
Although this bathroom is Art Deco, it shows how surrealism influenced other movements throughout art history. This bathroom is one of those bathrooms that has become one of the most important interiors of the 20th century. This is due to the floor to ceiling covered in glass walls and the usual lighting. The different glass pieces on the walls are a combination of mirror and cathedral glass. The cathedral glass helped create movement due to its rain like, dimpled texture. At the time, stream free mirror didn’t exist and therefore condensation did occur. When designing a room with a lot of glass like this one, steam free mirror should be considered.
Overall, Surrealism has influenced interior design and architecture in many ways. This is especially through the paintings dream like scenery the of many different objects which occupy the space.