Peter Doig (Scottish, b. 1959)
Masquerades, 2006
Giclee print on Somerset velvet enhanced 225
28.75 x 24 x 1.5 in
Gift of Charlotte and Alan Artus
Peter Doig’s magical realist composition, Masquerades, is simultaneously charming and unsettling, making it difficult to look away. What appears at first glance to be a joyous moment shared between a bride and her groom quickly becomes tainted with eeriness as the composition imparts a ghostly overtone. The vibrant background is muted by the composition’s wash, allowing the central figures to dominate the foreground. The couple is in motion, perhaps walking towards the masquerade for which they are dressed and costumed. The luminous moon casts a shadow upon the couple; below the artist has written the year 2006.
Masquerades appears theatrical and dramatized; the setting is unclear due to the indistinct background contours and the white drippings of the women’s dress. Perhaps the artwork depicts a fantastic dream.
As I look at this composition, I am reminded of Edvard Munch’s work and images dating back to the early 20th century. The year 2006 complicates my contextualization of Masquerades, and thus leads me to reflect upon when or where masquerades take shape in our contemporary climate. I am personally not intrigued by the idea of costume events or pretending to be something that you are not. Understanding masquerades to be a long-standing tradition with origins rooted in 15th century Carnivals, I cannot get past the eeriness of such an event that requires costuming and impersonation. Given our current pandemic conditions and the unease surrounding safety and health, the notion of playing with masks feels insensitive, even if it is to disguise as opposed to protect. Yet, there is a certain charm to the composition that makes me curious about the locale the two figures seem to move towards.
Peter Doig was born in 1959 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His family moved often throughout his childhood, living in Trinidad, London, and Canada. Doig studied at the Wimbledon School of Art in London and received a BA from Central Saint Martins in London, and earned his master’s at Chelsea School of Art at the University of the Arts London. Doig’s work dramatizes the traditional genre of landscape paintings by taking influence from the many locations he has lived in and allowing a magical realist touch to reframe his work. A juxtaposition of tranquility and unease is at constant play in Doig’s work, a tension that relates back to his relationship with Trinidad. Doig currently lives and works in Trinidad.
-Anna Murray ’23
Works Cited
Freeland, Lucy. “Peter Doig: Revolutionising Landscape Painting.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 25 July 2014, theculturetrip.com/caribbean/trinidad-tobago/articles/peter-doig-revolutionising-landscape-painting/.