The Shuttered House

The Shuttered House by William De Gouve de Nunques is an intriguing painting with eerie overtones, which I like. In many ways it reminds me of Edward Hopper's Gas, where the road running past the petrol staion disappears into the darkness.

In the forefront of the work, the house is lit upstairs, though a slender tree partially obscures the view we have. The house is bright, though the downstairs appears to be in gloom, and the effect is brightened by the fact that the house is painted pink. To the left, however, and in contrast to this bright side, the house is in darkness, save for one solitary light, swamped by the blackness which surrounds it and obscures. We can with the help of this single light just make out the shape of the rest of the house. But it is the blackness which draws the eyes to the heart of this painting. Is the shuttered house at the front the mask we give to the world, while taking attention from the real darkness of our souls?

What I really like about this painting is what appears to be a shower of stars above the roof of the part of the house in darkness. I was trying to work out what this might be, but, to be honest I am not at all sure. It could even be a flock of seagulls???

So, a house, and do houses breath? The silent vigilance of the insomniac ediface, ever watchful, it sees the people come and go, it witnesses all the dramas of those who inhabit its inner sanctum, yet never yields their secrets. And what is the figure in the bottom left hand corner of the painting. TBC, I have to do some more thinking.