Paule and Rémi in the Dining Room 1964

Editor: This is John's "Paule and Rémi in the Dining Room" from the Tate Collection, painted with oil on support sized 460 by 415 mm. I'm struck by its domesticity and the sense of quiet observation. What stories do you think this painting tells? Curator: I see a snapshot of lived experience framed within the politics of looking. Who are Paule and Rémi? What is their relationship to the artist, and how does that power dynamic manifest in the portrayal? Notice the blurred lines, the indistinct features. Is this a deliberate choice to obscure identity, to resist the male gaze, or something else entirely? Editor: I hadn't thought about it in terms of power. Curator: Consider the gaze, who is allowed to be seen, and how. This work makes me question those dynamics, and who has the privilege to represent whom. Editor: That really shifts my perspective on what I initially saw as a simple domestic scene. Thank you. Curator: It’s a reminder that even the most intimate settings are never truly free from the broader social and political forces that shape our lives.