J AC K V E T T R I A N O Days of Wine & Roses
Front Cover: Days of Wine and Roses, Catalogue No.22
JACK VETTR IANO Days of Wine &Roses 2 7 M A R C H --- 2 M AY 2 010 K I R K C A L D Y M U S E U M & A RT G A L L E RY WA R M E M O R I A L G A R D E N S , K I R K C A L DY, F I F E K Y 1 1 Y G
Exhibition Organised By: Heartbreak Heartbreak Publishing Limited 83 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 17 Bulstrode Street | London W1U 2JH 6RH )845 (0)845 508 4629 / info T +44 (0T: @heartbreakpublishing.com 020 508 32194624 5710 / | FE:+44 info@heart-break.co.uk | www.heart-break.co.uk
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Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam (The short span of life forbids us to entertain long hopes - Horace)
They are not long, the weeping and the laughter, Love and desire and hate: I think they have no portion in us after We pass the gate. They are not long, the days of wine and roses: Out of a misty dream Our path emerges for a while, then closes Within a dream.
Ernest Dowson (1867 --- 1900)
JACK VETTR IANO Days of Wine &Roses
Portrait of Jack Vettriano by Fredi Marcarini
Foreword One of my favourite films is La Belle Noiseuse. Noiseuse. It concerns the life of a French artist, and for long stretches of the film all we do is watch the hero sketch, draw and paint his subject (the ravishing Emmanuelle Beart). Although the artist himself is played by actor Michel Piccoli, whenever we see him at work the close-ups show the hands of a real artist, Bernard Dufour. The fascination for me lies in the depiction of this very personal and private act - the creation, from raw materials, of a genuine work of art. Painters (like writers) normally don’t work with a crowd watching. Writers, of course, don’t even have a model in the room - we are solitary creatures - and I’ve always been intrigued by the methods creative artists use, and the ways in which they conjure magic from those methods. Jack Vettriano, too, prefers to work alone. He will take photographs of his models and then oftentimes work from those, so that there are no distractions. I was living in France when I first heard about Jack. It interested me that we came from the same area of Scotland and shared a similar workingclass background. Neither of us had enjoyed formal training in our chosen fields. On a trip back to Edinburgh, I caught one of his shows. The paintings were being displayed in a Georgian town house and I loved them. They were erotic, mysterious and seemed to me to be telling stories about their participants. Even now, when I think about the titles of Jack’s paintings - The Man in the Mirror, Cold Cold Hearts, Heaven or Hell - they could just as easily be story titles. When I look at a Vettriano painting, I see more than brush strokes on canvas or a moment captured; I see a narrative. Who are these people? How do they relate to one another? What has just been happening and what is about to happen? It was a brilliant idea to host that show in an actual house, because it made me wonder about the private lives of all those straight-laced New Town residents. Just what secret desires were they keeping close to their chests? I met Jack a year or two later at the Edinburgh Festival. On both occasions he was alone, an observer of the festivities around him. Later on, I contacted him and asked if one of his paintings could play a role in my next novel. He agreed, and by strange coincidence we next met on an aeroplane, just after publication. I had a copy of the book with me and was able to give it to him. It was called Resurrection Men, which, now I come to think of it, could easily be a title of one of his paintings. Although we don’t see one another often, we stay in touch. When a Scottish indie band called St Jude’s Infirmary decided to re-create one of Jack’s paintings for the video of their song Goodbye, Jack Vettriano, Vettriano, they invited both Jack and me to the shoot. Whether the blustery beach at Portobello is quite what Jack had in mind when he painted The Singing Butler remains to be seen, but the event itself struck me as perfect synergy. Rock music is a populist form, as is the crime novel, and Jack has often been called ‘the people’s painter’, one of the most popular artists of his (or any) generation. He once took me to a room in his house. It was filled with samples of posters,
greetings cards, calendars, jewellery-boxes and the like, all of them featuring his best-known works. In another room was displayed an academic gown, evidence of one of his honorary doctorates. He’s also been the subject of a South Bank Show programme and had a street named after him. Quite an achievement, all in all, for a Fife school-leaver. Whether Jack has ever quite left Fife, however, is a moot point. He keeps a large apartment in Kirkcaldy, carved out of what used to be a linoleum company’s headquarters. It sits above the town and has spectacular views over the frigate-grey Firth of Forth. I grew up five miles away in the mining town of Cardenden and would travel to Kirkcaldy on Saturdays on shopping trips with my mum, and later, as a teenager, to prowl the esplanade and bluff my way into adult movies at one of the picture houses. My first poems, stories, and novels were attempts at mythologizing this backdrop, and I sense something similar in Jack’s work. The elegance, eroticism and overt romanticism in his paintings depict something missing from our shared upbringings. There is a saying, ‘You need a long spoon to sup with a Fifer.’ It means we tend to be close-knit, indeed almost tribal. We’re also reticent, and slow to show our feelings. Outward shows of affection are rare; passion is something we keep locked inside us, and not for public display. Those secret desires again. The same secrets are unlocked by our greatest artists, from playwrights to painters, but often they are unlocked without the majority of us having any sense of the working process. This book changes all that. It shows the artist at work and play, gives an idea of his everyday environment and the dreamscapes that inform his work. We can never hope really to know what goes on inside any creative artist’s head, but the camera provides a multitude of clues to the complex character of Jack Vettriano. Here’s the man I know: serious yet playful; warmhearted yet mysterious; open-minded but never forgetting his roots. The last time I saw Jack, he drove me to Kirkcaldy railway station. We talked about the town, about family ties, about music. Everything, in fact, except our actual craft. Maybe success itself bewilders us, or maybe it’s just that we’re two boys from Fife, taught by our parents and our culture not to be show-offs. But Fife and Scotland can be proud of Jack Vettriano, and now, with the help of this book, you can get to know him a whole lot better, too. Ian Rankin
Portrait of Jack Vettriano by Fredi Marcarini
Introduction The paintings featured in this catalogue, published to accompany the first part of this touring exhibition, Days of Wine and Roses, Roses, offer a glimpse of some of the memorable moments and experiences in Vettriano's life of the last few years. We open with a sequence of paintings which evolved following Vettriano’s visit to Milan in May 2009, when the artist was there to record a television interview with Rai Due to mark the publication, in Italian, of three of his books. The paintings feature the “Giallo Milano” trams, which were built in 1928 but still run today as one of the the City’s main modes of public transport. With their distinctive distinctive cream and yellow livery, and their beautifully restored interiors interiors of chrome, polished wood and plush red velvet, the trams immediately caught Vettriano’s eye and through the speedy intervention intervention of a journalist friend, Francesca Pini, he was given the opportunity of staging a photo shoot at the imposing imposing tram depot in Via Messina. Pini was cast as the leading lady and embraced the role fully, wearing vintage clothes that once belonged to her couturier Aunt. The photographs for the tram sequence of paintings were shot by Fredi Marcarini, whom Vettiano had met the previous year in London when Marcarini was commisisoned to take a series of portrait shots for a feature in the Italian magazine Monsieur. The two men share an ability to invest their work with implicit narrative, often heightened by a dramatic use of light and there are plans for a collaborative project next year. The Weight, Weight, a self portrait (catalogue 12), was painted by Vettriano last year in response to one of the portraits shot by Marcarini in the artist’s London home. Another sequence of paintings that show a Continental influence on Vettriano’s work are those he created for a special event last year in Monaco (catalogue 16 to 22). The Homage à Tuiga paintings were first exhibited at a private event at the Yacht Club of Monaco in September 2009, as part of the Club’s celebrations to mark the centenary of their flagship yacht, Tuiga. Vettriano, who has a studio in Nice, was approached by the Director of the Yacht Club of Monaco following the artist’s collaboration with Sir Jackie Stewart on a triptych of paintings, which were unveiled just days before the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix at the Hotel de Paris. The Club suggested that a painting inspired by the romance of Tuiga would be a wonderful way of commemorating the centenary and a fitting tribute to the yacht’s scottish provenance, having been built in 1909 by William Fife, a west coast Scottish yacht builder. After a few weeks’ planning and sketching of ideas, a photo shoot ensued at the Club, with vintage cars loaned by the retired racing driver, John Coombs, a friend of Sir Jackie Stewart’s and a model dressed in vintage clothing who posed, often with Vettriano himself, both on Tuiga and in the Club itself.
Nine paintings evolved from the photo shoot, along with eight smaller studies and even though only a few of the works are directly inspired by Tuiga, for Vettriano, this whole series will be remembered as his Homage à Tuiga. Tuiga. In an interview about the project, Vettriano commented: “I’m still, in my mind, a young or should I say, a middle aged guy from Fife, who just got really lucky and so to be able to go out and paint in Monaco is nothing short of a dream. Most people are stuck at the end of Berwick Pier doing landscapes and so to get invited to be involved with the Tuiga centenary was just lovely. Sometimes I just have to pinch myself and ask, “Is this really going on? Am I really here?” I think the light in the Riviera is just gorgeous and for someone like me, the sheer visual pleasure that you get from being in that kind of environment; looking at beautiful motorcars, looking at beautiful women, the style and architecture - it stimulates all your senses. It’s been a wonderful experience helping to mark Tuiga’s birthday and I’m very grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity.” Whilst the inspiration for some of Vettriano’s recent paintings have come from locations around the world, the works themselves come to life when the artist is back in the studio. He has studios in his homes in Fife, London and Nice, preferring the familiarity and immediacy of working from a home environment rather than the formality of a separate studio space. Surrounded by art, objects and furniture collected over the years, the studios themselves often provide a backdrop to his paintings. In this exhibition, we see the familiar window from his studio in London in Portrait in Black and Blue whilst the Art Deco interior of his studio in Nice provides the setting for La Femme au Chapeau Noir, Portrait in Black and Pearl and Original Sin. Sin. Alongside these studio pieces, this exhibition features some of Vettriano’s signature darker interiors, exploring the more erotic side of his imagination. Vettriano has chosen to premiere this touring exhibition at the Kirkcaldy Museum & Art Gallery as a gesture of thanks to the part it played in his development as an artist. The Museum’s free admission policy allowed the entirely self taught artist to spend countless hours looking at the paintings by William McTaggart, the Scottish Colourists and the Glasgow Boys that feature in what is probably one of the finest collections of Scottish art outside of the National Galleries of Scotland. “I can’t quite believe that it is twenty-five years since I first submitted work to the Fife Art Exhibition, which was held at the Kirkcaldy Museum and which, in many respects, kick-started my career as an artist. I am as grateful now as I was then to be given the opportunity to show my work at the Museum - exhibiting in such prestigious surroundings is a great honour for amateur and established artists alike.” alike.”
T H E PA I N T I N G S
THE LOOK OF LOVE? C ATA L OG U E No. 1
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T H E L A S T G R E AT R O M A N T I C S C ATA L OG U E No. 2
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A V E RY M A R R I E D C O U P L E C ATA L OG U E No. 3
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A D AT E W I T H F A T E C ATA L OG U E No. 4
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PA S S I N G S T R A N G E R S C ATA L OG U E No. 5
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WOMAN OF MINE C ATA L OG U E No. 6
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T H E D E V OT E D D R E S S M A K E R C ATA L OG U E No. 7
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QUEEN OF DIAMONDS C ATA L OG U E No. 8
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NIGHT C ALLS C ATA L OG U E No. 9
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CONFESSION C ATA L OG U E No. 1 0
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ORIGINAL SIN C ATA L OG U E No. 1 1
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THE WEIGHT C ATA L OG U E No. 1 2
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P O RT R A I T I N B L A C K A N D P E A R L C ATA L OG U E No. 1 3
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LA FEMME AU CHAPEAU NOIR C ATA L OG U E No. 1 4
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P O RT R A I T I N B L U E A N D B L A C K C ATA L OG U E No. 1 5
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MASTHEAD C ATA L OG U E No. 1 6
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SHIP OF DREAMS C ATA L OG U E No. 1 7
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S U N S H I N E A N D C H A M PA G N E C ATA L OG U E No. 1 8
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B E L OW D E C K C ATA L OG U E No. 1 9
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M A N O F M Y S T E RY C ATA L OG U E No. 2 0
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MORNING NEWS C ATA L OG U E No. 2 1
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D AY S O F W I N E A N D R O S E S C ATA L OG U E No. 2 2
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BLADES C ATA L OG U E No. 2 3
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THE STUDIES
THE LOOK OF LOVE? II C ATA L OG U E No. 2 4
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T H E L A S T G R E AT R O M A N T I C S I I C ATA L OG U E No. 2 5
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T H E D E V OT E D D R E S S M A K E R I I C ATA L OG U E No. 2 6
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QUEEN OF DIAMONDS II C ATA L OG U E No. 2 7
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NIGHT C ALLS II C ATA L OG U E No. 2 8
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CONFESSION II C ATA L OG U E No. 2 9
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ORIGINAL SIN II C ATA L OG U E No. 3 0
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COUPLE X C ATA L OG U E No. 3 1
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J ADE IN BLACK C ATA L OG U E No. 3 2
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P O RT R A I T I N B L U E A N D B L A C K I I C ATA L OG U E No. 3 3
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MALICE AFORETHOUGHT C ATA L OG U E No. 3 4
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MASTHEAD II C ATA L OG U E No. 3 5
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SHIP OF DREAMS II C ATA L OG U E No. 3 6
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S U N S H I N E A N D C H A M PA G N E I I C ATA L OG U E No. 3 7
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B E L OW D E C K I I C ATA L OG U E No. 3 8
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M A N O F M Y S T E RY I I C ATA L OG U E No. 3 9
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LINES OF BEAUTY II C ATA L OG U E No. 4 0
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D AY S O F W I N E A N D R O S E S I I C ATA L OG U E No. 4 1
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C ATA L O G U E OF WORKS
Sold Reserved
All paintings are in oil on canvas. Dimensions are given height before width. E&OE
1. T H E L O O K O F L O V E ?
24 x 20 inches
2. T H E L A S T G R E AT R O M A N T I C S
24 x 20 inches
3. A V E RY M A R R I E D C O U P L E
15 x 12 inches
4. A D AT E W I T H F AT E
15 x 12 inches
5. P A S S I N G S T R A N G E R S
15 x 12 inches
6. W O M A N O F M I N E
15 x 12 inches
7. T H E D E V O T E D D R E S S M A K E R
24 x 20 inches
8. Q U E E N O F D I A M O N D S
20 x 24 inches
9. N I G H T C A L L S
24 x 20 inches
10. C O N F E S S I O N
24 x 20 inches
11. O R I G I N A L S I N
20 x 24 inches
12. T H E W E I G H T
24 x 20 inches
13. P O R T R A I T I N B L A C K A N D P E A R L
20 x 16 inches
14. L A F E M M E A U C H A P E A U N O I R
20 x 16 inches
15. P O R T R A I T I N B L U E A N D B L A C K
24 x 20 inches
16. M A S T H E A D
24 x 20 inches
17. S H I P O F D R E A M S
24 x 20 inches
18. S U N S H I N E A N D C H A M P A G N E
20 x 24 inches
19. B E L O W D E C K
24 x 20 inches
20. M A N O F M Y S T E RY
20 x 16 inches
21. M O R N I N G N E W S
20 x 16 inches
22. D AY S O F W I N E A N D R O S E S
24 x 20 inches
23. B L A D E S
30 x 24 inches
24. T H E L O O K O F L O V E ? I I
15 x 12 inches
25. T H E L A S T G R E AT R O M A N T I C S I I
15 x 12 inches
26. T H E D E V O T E D D R E S S M A K E R I I
15 x 12 inches
27. Q U E E N O F D I A M O N D S I I
12 x 10 inches
28. N I G H T C A L L S I I
15 x 12 inches
29. C O N F E S S I O N I I
15 x 12 inches
30. O R I G I N A L S I N I I
12 x 15 inches
31. C O U P L E X
15 x 12 inches
32. J A D E I N B L A C K
15 x 12 inches
33. P O R T R A I T I N B L U E A N D B L A C K I I
15 x 12 inches
34. M A L I C E A F O R E T H O U G H T
15 x 12 inches
35. M A S T H E A D I I
15 x 12 inches
36. S H I P O F D R E A M S I I
15 x 12 inches
37. S U N S H I N E A N D C H A M P A G N E I I
12 x 15 inches
38. B E L O W D E C K I I
15 x 12 inches
39. M A N O F M Y S T E RY I I
15 x 12 inches
40. L I N E S O F B E A U T Y I I
12 x 15 inches
41. D AY S O F W I N E A N D R O S E S I I
15 x 12 inches
JACK VETTRIANO Jack Vettriano’s style has been compared to Hopper and Sickert, the moral ambiguities of his sensual dalliance likened to the photography of Brassai, his skudded beaches, inspired by Boudin. Yet he is, incontrovertibly, his own man. Life indoors is a peep-show played out by characters caught up in some shadowy limbo. Or out in an infinity of open space, small dramas tease and unravel. Passion, desire, threat, seduction and betrayal stalk boundaries between virtue and vice. There is an adoration of women and an indulgence of men; an acknowledgement acknowledgement of weakness and corruption, corruption, but neither sensure nor approval. The ringmaster masters his cast, cracks the whip and ritual dances begin. Born in 1951, Vettriano is entirely self-taught. Yet with amazing confidence and some painful sacrifices, based upon nothing but a lonely belief in himself, he started to paint full-time and held his first exhibition in 1992. Close to twenty years on Vettriano has become one of the world’s best known artists - loved and reviled in equal measures, he is nothing short of a phenomenon of our times. W. Gordon Smith
www.jackvettriano.com
Jack would like to dedicate this catalogue to his parents, Bill and Cath. With special thanks to: John and Ellie Coombs Sir Jackie Stewart Fredi Marcarini Francesca Pini Clive Arzeian All the team at Heartbreak
Published and Produced by Heartbreak Publishing Ltd. 17 Bulstrode Street, London, W1U 2JH Telephone: 020 3219 5710 E-mail: info@heartbreakpublishing.com www.heartbreakpublishing.com For the 2010 exhibition ‘Jack Vettriano, Days of Wine & Roses’ Illustrations and Text © Heartbreak Publishing Ltd. Photographs of Jack Vettriano © Fredi Marcarini www.fredimarcarini.com
J AC K V E T T R I A N O Days of Wine & Roses 3 0 S E P T E M B E R – 3 1 O C TO B E R 2 0 1 0
Heartbreak 17 Bulstrode Street London W1U 2JH T: 020 3219 5710 | E: info@heart-break.co.uk www.heart-break.co.uk www.heartbreakpublishing.com www.jackvettriano.com