Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell 1883-1937

In the series of elegant interiors that he painted at his home at Ainslie Place in the mid and late 1920s, Cadell showed a particular fondness for pale purples and icy blues; 'These cooler colours, just as solid in their application, were accompanied by a marked emphasis on linear structures in his compositions. The edges of tables, backs and stretchers of chairs, stark silhouettes of cups and vases against unmodelled backgrounds, all took on a new emphasis in these later pictures.' (Roger Billcliffe, The Scottish Colourists, 1989, p.57) The stark lines created by furniture, doorways and shadows was softened by the placing of more sensuous objects such as vases, flowers, curvaceous arm-chairs and statues. A particularly favourite item was a white marble or porcelain figure of a youthful Buddha which added a note of exotic sophistication to the otherwise perpendicular architecture of the present painting. The Buddha is placed in a central position in this painting, commanding the space in the same way that female figures had occupied the space in his slightly earlier interiors. Light pours through the open shutters of the tall windows, casting shadows and reflections across the walls and the polished surfaces of the varnished floor and the glossy panels of the door. The coolness of the walls and floors is relieved by the hot red and green accents of the chair cushion and the spines of the books. Cadell had a particularly sophisticated taste and his elegance is reflected in his interiors, as André Salmon wrote in Apollo magazine in 1931; 'His themes are all full of grace. Yet if he charms, if he wishes to attract people, he imposes tyrannically his taste for rigid line and the kind of geometric harmony of his most attractive works.' (Tom Hewlett, Cadell, The Life and Works of a Scottish Colourist 1883-1937, 1988, p.76)

Cadell shared a fascination for oriental porcelain with his friend Samuel John Peploe, who painted a contemporary study of a similar (though not identical) white porcelain figure of Buddha simply entitled Buddha (private collection). Their shared enthusiasm can be discerned from an event that took place in 1910 in Paris, recounted by Fergusson; 'Things I really like - perhaps I should say love - often make me want to laugh. One day Peploe and I went to see the Pelliot Collection. As we wandered through it we were suddenly halted, fixed by an intensity like a ray, in front of a marble head of a Buddha, white marble, perhaps with a crown of beads painted cerulean blue. I can't remember anything in art with a greater intensity of spiritual feeling. We both stood for what seemed a long time, just looking. Then I laughed. I apologised to S.J. for breaking the spell. With his usual understanding, he said, 'At a certain point you've either to laugh or cry.' (Guy Peploe, S. J. Peploe 1871-1935, 2000, pp.37-38) 

Around 1921 Cadell painted Buddha, Black and Gold (private collection) which was exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute in 1921 and attracted much praise for its stark contrast of forms. The picture hanging above the Buddha in the present work is The Ming Vase of 1922 (Christie's, 27 October 2005, lot 163). Cadell owned several figures of Buddha and in Still Life with a White Buddha and a Porcelain Buffalo (Sotheby's, 18 April 2005, lot 105) he painted a different Buddha example.

Cadell always tended to live a little beyond his means and it was clear towards the end of the 1920s that the income generated by the sale of his paintings was insufficient for him to continue occupying the large rooms at Ainslie Place. Despite securing the sale of A Lady in Black to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in 1926 (the first major painting to go to a public collection), Cadell resigned himself to moving into a smaller flat within the building and selling some of his choice items of furniture at auction in London. The fate of the Buddha figure is unfortunately not known but it is unlikely that Cadell was able to part with it at this time as it clearly held a special place in his affections.