Adonis Art
presents:
In Memory
Cornelius McCarthy 1935 - 2009

CORNELIUS McCARTHY
Four Figures in a Landscape, 1961
Framed Gouache painting 25 x 32 cms (9.5" x 12.5")

On-Line Gallery Available

Cornelius McCarthy was one of Britain's leading contemporary painters of the male form. His unique style makes his work instantly recognizable. Throughout his long career his subject matter has always been men, either singly or in groups, and from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. McCarthy conveys his subjects not as beefcake, but as real men, strong and unapologetic.

The sometimes surprising directness of his pictures, their distinctive formal qualities, sensuous effects and visual sophistication all have, as their basis, the mysterious empathy we feel for other human beings. His paintings explore and develop this theme, in particular the relationship between artist, model, picture and spectator, through the form known as the ‘odalisque’.

This French term is derived from a Turkish word originally signifying a female slave in an oriental harem, and was adopted in the 19th and 20th centuries by artists to refer to a type of voluptuous female nude, often but not always in an erotic pose and evidently aware of the viewer’s gaze. McCarthy skilfully extends this concept to the male model who in a similar way welcomes the admiration and interest of the spectator, thereby creating a lasting experience.

Adonis Art
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Saturday 10:30 AM - 5:00 PM
1b Coleherne Road, London SW10 9BS UK
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