Raw Truth: Auerbach & Rembrandt

Frank Auerbach, Portrait of E.O.W., oil on board, 1964, 45.7 x 38.1 cm (Private
Frank Auerbach, Portrait of E.O.W., oil on board, 1964, 45.7 x 38.1 cm (Private Collection, courtesy of Ordovas Gallery)

Jackie Wullschlager reviews the exhibition Raw Truth Auerbach − Rembrandt at Ordovas Gallery, London, on view from October 4 - December 1, 2013.

Wullschlager writes that both artists "share muted earthy palettes – but as light emerges from dark tonalities, their paintings are radiant. Paint for both is a vehicle to convey a vision of reality; however, as Francis Bacon noted of Rembrandt, there is a 'tightrope walk' between figuration and the abstract. The thing depicted has a presence which goes deeper than likeness. This has something to do with time. Auerbach and Rembrandt are slow painters, digging deep, working into a canvas the history of its creation as accumulated observations and feelings about an intensely known subject."