THOMPSON, Pauline;

Suzanne Aubert at the Mirror

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1986
Oil on canvas
595 x 755mm (image); 630 x 790mm (frame)

Suzanne Aubert at the Mirror is one of a series of paintings by Pauline Thompson concerning the French Catholic nun Suzanne Aubert, or Mary Joseph Aubert. The work is notable for its use of art historical references. The green shutter and railing in the foreground derive from Édouard Manet’s The Balcony (1868–69), which in turn refers to Majas on a Balcony (c. 1800–1810), attributed to Francisco de Goya y Lucientes. The eponymous mirror, showing Aubert’s reflection, recalls Diego Velázquez’s master work Las Meninas.

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Exhibition History

Content/Context: A Survey of Recent New Zealand Art 1986, curated by Luit Bieringa, National Art Gallery (later the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa), Te Whanganui-a-Tara, 1986

Illiterate Inscriptions, Denis Cohn Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau, 28 April to 9 May 1986, cat. no. 4

Provenance

1986–
Fletcher Trust Collection, purchased from Janne Land Gallery, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, 1986