‘Exuberance’ is the word of the day at the opening of The Picture Comes First, Rose Wylie’s marvellous retrospective at the Royal Academy. It is referenced in the press materials, and emphasised repeatedly by the show’s curator and the gallery staff on hand to answer questions. After a stroll through the galleries, it is not hard to see why. Though hugely varied in their subject matter – ranging from the Blitz to Nicole Kidman – Wylie’s paintings are unified by a joyful and vibrant energy which beams out from all of them.
The RA’s high ceilings and grand interiors act as a brilliant canvas for the artist’s large-scale, often child-like works. The 91-year-old Wylie is the first female painter to have a full retrospective in the space, a fact the institution has shouted proudly about, though on many levels it seems rather shameful given its 250+ year residency in Burlington House. Nevertheless, it only adds to Wylie’s credentials as a trailblazing feminist artist.
Wylie’s paintings are unified by a joyful and vibrant energy
The worlds of fashion, entertainment and celebrity are frequent sources of inspiration for the painter. In Lilith and Gucci Boy, she depicts Lilith, the supposed first wife of Adam (of Garden of Eden fame), who left him as she refused to be subservient. In a standout piece, she paints the character adjacent to an attendee of a Gucci fashion show, and labels her ‘the first feminist’. A series of four paintings that depict Nicole Kidman posing on a red carpet steal the show in a room that also features depictions of Peter Crouch, Thierry Henry, and the Duke and Duchess of Argyll (of A Very British Scandal fame).
In the next room, you’ll find works from Wylie’s ‘Film Notes’ series, which tracks her fascination with the world of cinema. Works recreating images from Natural Born Killers, Kill Bill, Inglorious Basterds and other films can be seen here (she’s particularly fond of Tarantino). There’s a certain comedy to all of these paintings, which assures the viewer the artist is more of an amused observer of the world of celebrity than an admirer of it.
A world away from these works are the paintings you’ll find in the exhibition’s first room, which are inspired by Wylie’s memories of living through the Blitz bombings as a child in London, a fascinating insight into the make-up of this singular artist. Her use of both iconic and everyday subjects is key to her work’s accessibility. This is further exemplified in a room of drawings. We learn that Wylie draws every single day, and that motifs often find their way into paintings, sometimes years down the line.
The Picture Comes First is a fantastic testament to an artist who has proven tenfold that age is no barrier to reaching one’s full potential. Equal parts puzzling, entertaining and thoughtful, this show is guaranteed to leave you in a better mood than when you arrived.
