JOHN DUNCAN FERGUSSON, R.B.A. | LA FORCE

Collection of Margaret Morris;

Sotheby's, London, 26 November 1969, lot 168;

The Leicester Galleries, London;

Private Collection, Scotland;

Christie's & Edmiston's, Glasgow, 10 April 1980, lot 67;

Portland Gallery, London;

Duncan R. Miller Fine Arts, London, where purchased by the present owner

W. Hardie, Scottish Paintings 1837-1939, Edinburgh, 1976, p.92;

A. Strang, E. Cumming and S. McGregor, J.D. Fergusson, exh.cat., National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2013, illustrated pl.67

La Force can be considered one of John Duncan Fergusson's most important early nudes, a theme which remained central throughout his career. In this respect he differed from his fellow Colourists who never fully explored the subject. For the Fauves however, the nude was a standard theme and Fergusson would have been concious of the controversy caused by Henri Matisse's Blue Nude (1907, Baltimore) and Andre Derain's Three Bathers (1907, MoMA). This appears to have only encouraged Fergusson's artistic exploration and experimentation of the nude.

La Force was painted in the same year as Rhythm (1910, University of Stirling) which gave its name to an Arts publication by John Middleton Merry and Michael Sadler with Fergusson as Arts editor. A design based on the painting also featured on the front cover of the journal. Rhythm became a driving force behind Fergusson's work during this period, it was for him the very essence of life. Fergusson was hugely influenced by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russes which toured Paris between 1909-1914.

Fergusson’s appreciation of the Fauves fuelled his ambition and experimentation, and his initial series of rhythmic nudes culminated in Les Eus (1911-1913), the largest piece he ever completed. It depicts a ring of six figures engaged in a bacchanalian dance amid lush vegetation, and draws clear inspiration in terms of its composition, handling and hedonistic subject from Matisse’s The Dance (1910, the Hermitage, St Petersburg).

In both Les Eus and La Force, the bold, dark outlines of the figures give the paintings tremendous energy, which is further emphasised in La Force by the strong palette and vigorous brushwork. It is undoubtedly among the most powerful and important works in Fergusson’s oeuvre.