PARTNERS IN CRIME

Crime scenes in art

From 1 March to 31 May 2006 visitors to the Walker Art Gallery can see two great works hanging side by side – Cézanne’s The Murder and Sickert’s Jack the Ripper’s Bedroom. The common theme for these two rather sinister paintings is murder.

Cezanne is often referred to as the father of modern art and is credited with influencing such artists as Picasso and Matisse. The Murder was painted in 1867 and is an early, dark example of Paul Cezanne’s work. A novel by Zola, in which the heroine murders her husband, may have inspired the choice of subject. In the painting, the murderer is lifting his hand ready to give the final blow, while his accomplice uses all his strength to hold the victim down.

Walter Sickert’s interpretation of Jack the Rippers Bedroom (1906) is a shadowy, macabre piece, with a bed just distinguishable beneath the filtered half-light coming through the blinded window. The colours used are muted and the onlooker is left with more questions than answers. Some believe that Sickert was Jack the Ripper.

This display is under the Partners in Art initiative which aims to bring together significant works so the people of the North West can see them. In the latest of a series of collaborations between the Walker Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery two magnificent paintings have been brought together. Moira Lindsay says: “ We are extremely pleased to be able to display these two great works. In sharing our paintings, we hope to enrich the displays in both galleries and to bring important collections to more people in the North West."

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