Dimensions: support: 495 x 655 x 20 mm frame: 639 x 803 x 89 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Philip Wilson Steer’s painting, "The Bridge," currently housed at the Tate. It's an oil on canvas, portraying two figures overlooking boats in the water. There's a hazy, dreamlike quality to the whole scene. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Let’s consider Steer’s process. Look at how he builds up the surface with visible brushstrokes. This materiality isn’t just about representation; it's about the labor involved in creating the image, and how that labor reflects the social context of art production at the time. How does this visible labour change your perspective of the image? Editor: It makes me think about the artist's hand and time, the physical act of creation. That the value is less in the perfect rendition and more in the process. Curator: Precisely. The value isn’t inherent, but constructed through the act of making and our engagement with the materials. Perhaps, value lies in perception itself.
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This picture was strongly attacked by the critics when it was first exhibited in 1887, and dismissed by one as 'either a deliberate daub or so much mere midsummer madness'. Steer considered giving up painting in the wake of this disapproval. With its exploitation of the creamy fluency of oil paint, its atmospheric lighting and subdued colouring, 'The Bridge' is like Whistler's landscapes he called 'Nocturnes'. It was unusual in London at the time for its lack of detail, and for the uncertainly about its subject. The view is probably at Walberswick in Suffolk. Gallery label, September 2004
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