RSA Scottish Art
Still Life - Nocturne
 | Artist: William H Littlejohn |
| Title: Still Life - Nocturne | |
| Year: c. 1973 | |
| 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’s family | |
| Description: William Littlejohn specialises in still life and his work bridges both representation and abstraction. A main feature of his work is its constant referral to the shore and the fishing industry.In Still Life, the elements of the composition (such as cups and fruit) have been carefully arranged on a tilted tabletop against a backdrop based on Arbroath harbour. There is an evening darkness which is reflected in the sub-title (Nocturne). There is no spatial definition around the individual objects - they appear to be floating on the same flat plane. At the time of painting this, Littlejohn was interested in the work of Georges Braque, a cubist, and the painters working in the Cornish fishing village of St Ives. The dark edges and the window shutter on the right contain the central panel and focus attention on the objects.The subjects chosen for this scene seem quite random at first. Some of them are difficult to identify. However, fruits, birds and cups are all repeated in the scene, and objects which look like eggs are dotted around too. What can we understand about the scene from this selection of material? Is it significant that we see this arrangement with a harbour in the background? Is it the debris of daily life in the harbour?The mood of the painting is quite playful and bright, but there is a more sombre edge in the smudgy lights of the harbour and the ghostly shape around the clock. The name Nocturne usually refers to a piece of music which is evocative of the night. The harbour may be peaceful, but the scattered objects reflect the remnants of man's daily activities. | |
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