Boatmen

'The boatmen' 1915 is an early modernist composition by an Australian-born artist who was immersed in the developments of the London avant-garde. Two figures dominate the small picture plane with broad, simplified limbs rendered vividly in purple, yellow, green and blue. Their labour is implied by the diagonal oar, which punctuates the work’s flattened space and cropped frame. Like other of Horace Brodzky’s paintings at this time, 'The boatmen' reflects a modern interest in the depiction of figures at work, connecting their labour with the dynamic qualities of geometric shapes, bold colours and strong lines.

Born in Melbourne in 1885, and following intermittent studies at the National Gallery of Victoria School, Brodzky emigrated with his family, living in San Francisco and New York before settling in London in 1908. From 1911 Brodzky studied at the City and Guilds Art School in Kensington and joined the newly-formed London Group in 1914. The London Group sought to represent the latest developments in British modern art, and Brodzky participated in their Second and Third Exhibition of Works in 1915. Brodzky was also the subject of a portrait bust by the French artist Henri Gaudier-Brzeska in 1913, held in collection at the Tate London, with whom he was particularly close and on whose work he later wrote a book. 'The boatmen' shows the influence of Gaudier-Brzeska – who also drew and painted portraits of Brodzky around this time – and that of the vorticist artists in London.