RSA Scottish Art
On the Ramblas
 | Artist: David Michie |
| Title: On the Ramblas | |
| Year: 1976 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © the artist | |
| Description: David Michie retired as Head of the School of Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art in 1989, but continues to live and paint in Edinburgh. This painting, On the Ramblas, is set on the long pedestrianised street that runs through Barcelona. It is typically full of energy and resonant colour. Michie's stylised, flattened figures are left incomplete, with unfinished faces. In contrast to the cheerful appearance of the woman and child shown by the happy smile, the shadowy man has a sinister, almost alien presence - we do not see any of his features to determine his role. (The artist intended this figure to have a military bearing; hence his angularity, the sharpness of his jaw, and maybe his brown clothes. This is because the painting was inspired by a visit to Barcelona just after the demise of Franco's regime, when the country was beginning to open up but was still “edgy” due to its recent history as a military regime.)The contrasting bands of colour and patterned background represent the trees, lanterns and the ornate brickwork of the pavement. This curious scene sums up a modern city like Barcelona - vivid contrasts and a strange mix of people create a vibrant buzz. This painting certainly captures that diversity and excitement. The painting is executed in a variety of styles. The hard-edged curving shapes at the bottom are carefully completed, whereas the man's clothes are barely hinted at. The plants are sketched in roughly, but other areas of the background are painted with care and energy. The top section resembles the type of rhythmic, flat collage work which Matisse produced. The colours chosen are vibrant, summery and bright, and there is a great emphasis on the complementary colours of blue and orange. Michie is placing more emphasis on mood and atmosphere rather than trying to show an exact physical reproduction of the scene. The mood of the painting is very cheerful and exuberant. The happy expression of the young mother eating an ice cream adds to the general brightness of the scene, but the man with the angular face seems much more mysterious. Try watching people in a city street from a cafe window. Observe the variety of characters you might see passing by. Each person has their own reason to be there. Can we tell what it is by the way they are dressed and the way they behave? | |
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