The convex mirror is a c 1916 oil with pencil on wood panel painting by Australian artist George Washington Lambert.

The convex mirror
ArtistGeorge Washington Lambert
Yearc 1916
Mediumoil with pencil on wood panel
Dimensions50 cm diameter (20 in)
LocationState Library of New South Wales, Sydney
Websitehttp://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=FL3295754

The work depicts the interior of Belwethers, a cottage in Cranleigh, a village in Surrey in southern England.[1]

Lambert was influenced in the creation of this work by the late-Renaissance artist Parmigianino's 1520s painting Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror.[1]

It is a jewel-like piece of painting, with the lustre of a looking-glass, in which Lambert explored the distinction between how things appear in the picture or in a mirror, or how they are in life itself. He placed the artist within the painting on a separate plane from the other people within the scene, and showed him ignoring them and looking out to the viewer – observing the entire scene through a convex mirror. His hand thrusts forward, without a brush, spread wide as it would when distorted in a mirror.

— Anne Grey, [1]

Lambert's friend, artist Thea Proctor said The convex mirror "has the exquisite finish of the Dutch Masters, and shows that a present-day artist could also paint small things in a large manner."[1]

The painting was acquired by the State Library of New South Wales in 2012 as part of a bequest from art collector Helen Selle.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Grey, Anne. "The convex mirror c.1916". George W Lambert Retrospective. National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  2. ^ Holden, Robert (2020). "A fully rounded masterpiece". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 March 2021.