Portraits | rodneypople17

Portraits 2004 - 2019

Self portrait after Henry Raeburn

2004 watercolour and tempera on paper on canvas. 166 x 143 cm Rodney Pople’s self portrait is a homage to Sir Henry Raeburn’s 1748 painting 'Portrait of the Reverend Robert Walker skating'. Raeburn was a Scottish artist known for his portraits of society figures of the day. "I loved the painting and I thought it could make a witty self-portrait", says Pople. "Apart from its elegance and magic, I liked the obvious metaphor of skating on thin ice".

Duchess of Mosman

2005 oil on linen 214 x 150 cm Archibald Prize 2005

Artist & curator, after Gainsborough

2006 oil and watercolour on linen 168 x 290 cm Archibald Prize 2006 (SOLD) Artist and curator is a portrait of the artist Rodney Pople and Sydney-based curator Felicity Fenner. The painting takes its inspiration from Gainsborough’s famous portrayal of Mr and Mrs Andrews (c1750). “In its theatrical formality, my painting pays homage to Gainsborough while making irreverent reference to Sydney’s obsessions with real estate."

Stone cold sober (self portrait )

2007 oil and watercolour on linen 290 x 212 cm Archibald Prize 2007 Collection: Russell Crowe 'Stone cold sober takes its inspiration from French artist Yves Klein’s famous 1960 photographic portrayal of himself apparently leaping from a city building. "For me, it represents not a stunt suggestive of suicide, but an act of over-whelming optimism and faith", says Pople.

Art is what you can get away with

2008 watercolour and oil on linen 201 x 270 cm Archibald Prize 2008 'Art is what you can get away with' is a self-portrait by the artist Rodney Pople. The title is a quote from Andy Warhol, a truism that also reflects Pople’s attitude to making art. The quote adorns a t-shirt that Pople purchased from the Warhol exhibition in Brisbane, which he paints himself wearing here. The painting takes its inspiration from Goya’s 'The Shootings of May 3rd 1808'.

Stelarc tryptich

2010 oil and archival pigment on linen 210 x 300 cm Archibald Prize 2010 Stelarc is one of Australia’s leading artists, best known in Europe and Japan where he has spent much of his life. A performance artist, Stelarc’s work explores the interface between new technologies and the body. In 1980, he developed a ‘third hand’ powered by the body’s own nervous system.

Artist and family after Caravaggio

2011 oil and archival ink on linen 153 x 200 cm Archibald Prize 2011 This is a portrait of Rodney Pople being beheaded by his wife Felicity Fenner, as their two sons look on. The composition borrows unashamedly from Caravaggio’s 'Judith beheading Holofernes' (1598). It has been remodelled here by Pople to create an equivocal family dynamic which accommodates four rather than the original three figures.