Ennui

Image credit: Tate

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Notes

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The title means ‘boredom’ in French. Sickert suggests the dislocated relationship between the figures by their lack of communication and their surroundings. Despite their close physical proximity, the man and woman face in opposite directions, staring off into space. The room furnishings reinforce the theme, in particular the bell jar containing stuffed birds. This is a marriage suffocating with boredom. Sickert’s works provide neither moral nor narrative certainty; which he leaves the viewer to supply.

Tate

Art UK Founder Partner

More information
Title

Ennui

Date

c.1914

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 152.4 x W 112.4 cm

Accession number

N03846

Acquisition method

Presented by the Contemporary Art Society 1924

Work type

Painting