RSA Scottish Art
Avatar
 | Artist: Henry John Lintott |
| Title: Avatar | |
| Year: 1916 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: Henry Lintott was a slow and meticulous painter of portraits, landscapes and dream-like allegorical or symbolic subjects. Avatar is a mysterious painting. The title, taken from Hindu mythology, means “transfiguration” (a supernatural change in form or appearance) and may refer to the ascent of the soul, in this case a figure carried heavenwards on a bier by four angel-like beings. Lintott has placed the four figures with flowing robes against a realistically painted cloud-filled sky. Their delicately poised limbs create a decorative, flowing pattern echoed in the clouds surrounding them. This painting is Symbolic through its expression of invisible truth. It depicts a dead figure carrying a sword, and was painted in the midst of the First World War. Lintott is referring to the sacrifice of young soldiers on the battlefield. Look at the paintings of the French artist, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes; these were a significant influence on Lintott. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this painting is the mood created by the use of colour and tone. The warm, soothing palette adds to the sense of tranquillity and melancholy in the painting. Subtle variations in colour and tone in the sky suggest a perfect sunset, often used to symbolise death. This idea is reinforced by the flowing black cloak covering the shape of the dead figure. The composition of the painting is arranged so that the eye focuses immediately on the central action. The background is painted using hazy, subtle shapes and clouds of colour which allow us to concentrate on the tiny immaculately painted details that define these figures as they move gently upwards from left to right suggesting ascent to heaven. | |
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