Lot 237: - Jens Johannessen , Norwegian b. 1934 rabbineren oil on canvas

signed with initials, dated and inscribed JJ 70 SCHMÛSE lower left; signed, titled and inscribed SCHMÜSE on the reverse oil on canvas

109 by 109cm., 43 by 43in.

Oslo, Kunstnernes Hus, 1971

Hans-Jacob Brun, Jens Johannessen, Maleri, Oslo, 1993, p. 134, illustrated (titled Prelaten)

Purchased by the present owner in 1974

Painted in 1970, the present work is one of a small series of works that Johannessen painted at the beginning of the decade that form his 'Patriarch' series. Each work shares a similar format: the composition is divided horizontally in two; the colouring is predominantly red, white and black, and centrally in the lower half of each is a semi-abstracted vestment that clearly carries an ecclesiastical connotation.

In the present work crisp black and white clothing set against a red background suggests the costume of a rabbi. To either side appears an indeterminate urban background. In other paintings from the series such as Patriarkens Krave (The Patriarch's Collar) and Pavenes Have (The Pope's Garden) a Papal red contrasts with white against a black background (fig. 1).

In the upper half of each composition, the divide between top and bottom of the canvas cuts across the collar of the clothes, is less figurative and predominantly white. In the present work vertical hieroglyphs suggest an ancient text.

In painting Rabbineren Johannessen employs a reductive technique, scraping at the paint surface to achieve a silky smoothness, obliterate impasto and uncover a vibrant mix of colour combinations that lie just beneath the paint surface. The effect is that of a palimpsest; the scraped back paint surfaces a metaphor.

The present work, together with other works from the series, were shown at the Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo in 1971, an event that proved to be a landmark exhibition for the artist, and a turning point in his career.

FIG. 1, Jens Johannessen, Patriarch's Collar, Private Collection
Digi ref: 385D08101