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John Armstrong 1893-1973 Bacchanale, 1944 Signed and dated lower right 'JA 44' Tempera on board 18 1/2 x 25 1/2 in, 47 x 64.8 cm Provenance The Mayor Gallery, London Gordon Watson Agnews, London Private Collection Exhibitions London, Lefevre Gallery, Recent Paintings by John Armstrong, Paintings by Sine Mackinnon, July 1945, cat. no.31 London, New Grafton Gallery, John Armstrong, 14 March - 7 April 1984, cat. no.3 (as Helicon) London, Piano Nobile, John Armstrong: Paintings 1938-1958: An Enchanted Distance, 2015, cat. no.4 Literature Andrew Lambirth, John Armstrong: The Paintings, 2009, Lund Humphries, cat. no.280, p.183, illus. Piano Nobile Publications, John Armstrong: Paintings 1938-1958: An Enchanted Distance, 2015, cat. no.4, p.19, illus. Like Moore and Hillier, John Armstrong was captivated by Surrealism. He developed his own idiosyncratic take on the movement based on English romanticism and ancient carved figures. At the heart of Bacchanale is the connection between man and nature. As Moore strove to unite the two in his sculpture, Armstrong emphasises the affinity of the figures with their pastoral setting. The figures are leaf-life with their billowing drapery and organic curves, and the careful all-over mosaic-like brushwork gives the painting a quiet unity. Moore no doubt had these works in mind when making his Leaf Figures of the early 1950s. Bacchanale is from Armstrong's series Spring which he begun in 1944. Just as Moore revisited classical imagery after the war, in Bacchanale Armstrong turns to the myth of the Baccante, the hedonistic followers of the god Bacchus associated with the woods and nature. While they are often depicted as frenzied creatures, here Armstrong gives a more harmonious image of gentle pleasure.