Absurdity
Were it not for the falling man, tumbling head over heels from a cliff, this would have been reminiscent of one of those 18th-century landscapes by the likes of Turner or Caspar David Friedrich. Instead the romantic scene is undercut by the slapstick absurdity of the death.
Conflict
The skirmish depicted is supposed to be a scene from the American civil war, but Eilshemius painted this in 1917, so it was clearly another conflict that was on his mind. It is palpably satire, sending up the stupidity of man and our maniacal desire to kill each other.
Crankiness
The painting is currently in a small exhibition of Eilshemius’s oil-on-board works and archive material, curated by painter Merlin James. In it, Eilshemius’s cranky personality is revealed: in one letter on show, the artist berates a gallerist who had previously passed on his work.
Duchamp
One champion he did have was Duchamp, who facilitated art-world introductions. The fact that Duchamp was a fan of an artist whose work veers into a naive style – this show even has paintings depicting chubby nymphs – reveals an interesting side to the arch-conceptualist.
Re-evaluation
Eilshemius gave up painting in 1921, just as his work was beginning to receive some recognition; in 1941 an obituary noted he died “penniless”. Now something of a re-evaluation is occurring, with the publication of a monograph last year.
42 Carlton Place, Glasgow, to 15 May, by appointment only from 26 April, contact the gallery on 0141 420 1079 or 42carltonplace@gmail.com
