Arts Column: Among the most famous depictions of Bermuda

The most famous depictions of Bermuda by the French cubist artist Albert Gleizes are the series of watercolours and completed oil of Government House (Maison du Gouverneur). However, Gleizes was also interested in other landscapes as evidenced in his many Paysage de Bermudes paintings and even turned his attention to the water in the charming little watercolour  Pitts Bay. In a few short, succinct brushstrokes he captures the serene felling of boats at anchor in a safe harbour. To me, it is reminiscent of the work of Alfred Birdsey who was obviously influenced by the cubist style, although I do not know if he had studied the work of Gleizes or not. 

Gleizes, and his new wife Juliette Roche, arrived in Bermuda on September 27,1917 according to the manifest published in the Royal Gazette. He had just been to New York City after mustering out of the French Army and experiencing the “horrors of war” in Lorraine. The trip marks a shift in his work toward the purity of colour and a renewal of a feeling of optimism. Gleizes seemed to veer away from the browns and greys which Picasso and Metzinger used at the time. It was a pleasant surprise when I was visiting in St Remy du Provence and there, staring back at me in the window of the Centre d’Art Presence Van Gogh was Gleizes’ Paysage des Bermudes! This was in a town that when we asked about our island home in a travel agency, the response was, “Oooh… Triangle des Bermudes!’

Elise Outerbridge is curator for the Masterworks. Visit www.bermudamasterworks.com