Half a loaf
Creator:
Henderson, Keith (1883-1982)
Date:
ca. 1955
Medium:
Inscriptions:
Inscribed on verso: Half a loaf
Description:
An elderly woman pauper is squatting on the pavement by the drains. She is nibbling half a loaf of bread, most probably given to her by a passer-by. The woman’s posture is demeaning by all social Cypriot standards. Urban dwellers of the higher classes, dressed in European clothes, give the elderly lady condescending looks. Her presence is causing unease if not embarrassment. A woman of peasant stock, dressed in completely different attire, can be seen walking away from her. The painting succinctly provides a social commentary on inequalities in the Cypriot urban Landscapes of the 1950’s. The artist, who had visited Cyprus in the late twenties, returned to the island in the late fifties with a different style. In his later pictures, the background is usually almost white, broken by mostly light colours in the shape of figures or buildings.
Dimensions:
40 x 40 cm
Signature(s):
Signed in lower right: Keith Henderson
Subject:
Identifier:
PNT-00740
Classification:
Collection:
Object Type:
Rights Holder:
© Costas and Rita Severis Foundation
Rights Statement:
The Costas and Rita Severis Foundation holds or manages the copyright(s) of this item and its digital reproduction. If you need information about using this item, please send an email to research@severis.org
We're always looking to improve our records, so if you have any information about an object or recognize any of the people, locations, monuments in the photographs, please give us details in the form provided here.
