Wotan

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

20712

Title

Wotan

Description

An abstract work of thick impasto colour. The brush strokes are laden with paint and applied to the canvas with an unconscious rhythm.
The blue, reds and greens give a naturalistic theme. The canvas does seem to reflect a sense of fury and wildness.

Artist / maker

Johnstone, William

Size

167.6 x 198.1 cm

Type

Oil painting

Location

City Art Centre

Accession number

CAC1988/2

William Johnstone was brought up on his father's farm in Selkirk. Encouraged by the painter Tom Scott, Johnstone found his way towards art. Johnstone was also a lifelong friend of the Scottish poet Christopher Grieve, better known as Hugh Macdiarmid. Together with composer Francis George Scott, the three men hoped to create a Scottish renaissance.
Many of Johnstone's abstract works stem from themes such as the destruction of war, music and the renewal and change of the seasons. The shapes in this painting seem to take on natural forms. Although abstract, it has been suggested that the shapes are influenced by the landscape of the Scottish borders. Johnstone once said "I am a countryman, so my paintings belong to the ground, to the earth."
The title, Wotan also makes reference to the supreme God and creator in Scandinavian mythology.
By permission of The Estate of William Johnstone

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