Interior & Interiority

While the theme of interiors and interiority is topical today due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this genre of painting is centuries old. It first appeared in Europe near the end of the 17th century – a period which reflected a growing self-consciousness in the history of art. It then enjoyed great popularity in the second half of the 19th century, when it became fashionable to commission paintings of private rooms to show off and preserve for posterity. Increased importance was given to the home as a place of comfort, intimacy and family at this period and these careful, detailed representations of living space allowed viewers insight into private spaces that were generally off-limits.

At first, these paintings were devoid of people but eventually, they started to suggest a human presence through depictions of discreet personal objects, such as a book or a shawl left on a piece of furniture.  As the décor became more psychologically charged, so that one could sense the owner’s emotions and thoughts, these paintings came to be seen as “interior portraits” and a way of preserving memories and passing them on to the next generation.

Though such scenes were still being created, by the mid-twentieth century photography had changed this style of painting into an exercise in deliberate archaism. At its extreme, some contemporary artists imitate the classical canon of the traditional interior genre, sometimes with humorous effect.

With the COVID-19 pandemic restricting many of us to our interior environments, Guest Curator Emé Paschalides has chosen to revisit this historical genre in our contemporary moment. Drawing on the National Gallery collection, private loans, and newly commissioned artworks she explores the notion of “Interior and Interiority” through several sub-themes: Interior Portraits, The Studio, Isolation, and Intimism.

Curator’s Statement

Lockdown offered us all the opportunity to reconnect with our interiors and, when it comes to art, the opportunity to rediscover the pictorial genre of the interior.  Until now, people’s homes were private, a world only discovered upon invitation, but the pandemic has granted us access to the private worlds of TV presenters and co-workers through home filming and videoconferencing. Interiors can make powerful portraits and, when rendered artistically, can also convey a compelling interiority.

The forced engagement with the indoor world to which we have all been recently subjected presents an historic opportunity for our contemporary artists to explore and, for us viewers, to rediscover a genre whose subtlety has largely been forgotten and whose quiet themes have been left in the shadows…until now.

It is with the above in mind that we have selected works portraying a range of interior spaces, inviting the visitor to approach each work on display with the degree of intimacy it calls for and to consider what intimacy an artist’s chosen space might express.

Guest Curator, Emé Paschalides