Rachel with Butterflies
1999
"In this painting of his wife, artist Rachel Feinstein, John Currin shows his affinity for Renaissance and mannerist painting that distorted or elongated the female figure. Currin embraces the tradition of figurative painting, putting a modern twist on precedents like Dürer, Botticelli, and Cranach.
While many of his earlier female nudes were highly eroticized, this work is more idealized, perhaps because of the artist's intimate relationship with the subject. Rachel poses as a figure reminiscent of Eve before the fall, or perhaps as the embodiment of Spring." Tara Reddy, "First Person Singular/Dis-Figured," May 31, 2001, through January 1, 2002
Oil on canvas
68 x 38 in. (172.7 x 96.5 cm)
Gift of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2020.15.7
Provenance: [Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, 1999]
Image courtesy of the Virginia and Bagley Wright Collection
