The pregnant nude in contemporary Art

Jonathan Yeo's recent photo-realistic painting of a heavily pregnant Sienna Miller has attracted much media comment as much for the subject matter as her obvious celebrity. With a few notable exceptions the representation of the pregnant nude in Art is still relatively uncommon. Personally, I think this a great shame but I have been lucky enough to produce one work so far which celebrates this special life moment.

"La Serenissima"

chalk pastel

10.5 x 7.5 in. / 27 x 19 cm.

I had the great good fortune to draw my model Kate, with whom I have worked on a number of my sculptures, when she too was pregnant. And from these drawings I developed this pastel painting. The arch format, the treatment of shimmering light and the dark interior owed much, at the time, to a visit I had made to Venice. So I imagined Kate sheltering from the hot summer sun, seated by an open window in her palazzo in Venice, overlooking the Lagoon. In celebration of that transient but joyful state, I gave the painting the title of "La Serenissima", which means the most serene and is the name by which the City of Venice is known. Just seemed appropriate.

A pregnant torso will also feature as the third sculpture of four in a series carved in stone I am working on. Each season of the year in my Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons) series is represented by a female torso morphing into a plant form. In the case of the now finished Primavera (Spring) the figure is morphing into a Snowdrop. Este (Summer) which I am currently working on takes the form of a reclining torso morphing into  an Arum Lily and Autumno will be a pregnant torso as ripening fruit. 

Mantegna to Matisse

Five hundred years of drawing are represented by 60 works in Mantegna to Matisse: Master Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery on exhibition in London from 14 June until 9 September 2012. From quick, observed sketches, through studies to fully resolved drawings intended as works in their own right, here is a wonderful opportunity to see how Artists of the western tradition have used drawing over the centuries to explore their subjects. There is always something intimate about the medium, whereby I look at a drawing from the same kind of distance as the Artist did, and feel that I am almost standing in his shoes. The raw, unfinished state of sketches allows you some insight into the Artist's focus at a  moment in time. So each drawing is always exciting in what it reveals about their process. And this exhibition of Artists from Leonardi Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Durer, Rubens, Rembrandt, Ingres, Canaletto, Turner, Cezanne, Degas, Picasso and many others, did not disappoint. Truly an embarrassment of riches!

Here are a few of my personal favourites:-

Seurat - Female Nude

"Very sculptural and just so sensual"

Pontormo - Seated Youth

"Fresh and contemporary - lovely quality of line"

Rembrandt - Saskia sitting up in bed, holding a child

"A moment captured"

Leonardo da Vinci - Study for Saint Mary Magdalene

"The great man thinking, through his drawing"

Van Gogh - A Tile Factory

"Very singular mark making"

Toulouse Lautrec - Au Lit

"Love the focus on the face. Most touching."

I could go on but I might spoil the many surprises to be found when you visit. The exhibition is beautifully hung, as you would expect at the Courtauld, one I can heartily recommend. A very nice tea-room too!