Edwin Holgate
Allandale, Ontario, 1892 – Montreal 1977
The Bathers
1937
Oil on canvas
81.3 x 81.3 cm
Purchase, Robert Lindsay Fund, inv. 1937.664
Quebec and Canadian Art
By representing the human figure in a natural setting, Holgate avoided the controversy fomented by reactionary critics who doubted whether the nude had a place in Canadian art. In The Bathers, the two figures dominate the space of the painting, their heads and curved backs describing a sweeping circular movement. Holgate combined them skilfully with the landscape, through not only the repeated outlines but also the tonalities: the whiteness of the water’s foam is echoed in the towels, and the shades of brown, yellow and green in the rocks and foliage are reflected in the flesh tones.
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