Six Modern masterpieces

Six Modern Masterpieces, at Compton Verney, Warwickshire.

These paintings are on loan from the Barber Institute of Art, University of Birmingham.

Vincent Van Gogh, A Peasant Woman Digging, 1885, (oil on canvas)

Made when Van Gogh was living in the Netherlands, this is one of several paintings that focused on local peasant figures. Here, Van Gogh has matched the painting's palette to the hard earth the woman is digging. The woman bends in an awkward pose, emphasising the effort of her labour.  'One must paint the peasants as being one of them, as feeling, thinking, as they do. I personally am convinced I get better results by painting them in their roughness than by giving them a conventional charm'.

Maurice Denis, Portrait of Arthur Huc, 1892, (oil on millboard)

Denis famously said in 1890: 'Remember that a picture - before being a war-horse, a nude woman or some anecdote - is essntially a plane surface covered with colours assembled in a certain order'. This painting fuses abstraction with reality, combining the figurative depiction of the sitter with the rhythm of the smoke and the highly stylised surface design of the wallpaper - a fusion that was typical for Les Nabis.

Edouard Vuillard, Madame Vuillard Arranging her Hair, 1900, (oil on cardboard)

A member of Les Nabis, Vuillard's interest in decoration shines out of this work. Vuillard captures an intimate scene - his mother sitting with her back to us in the apartment she shared with the artist, fixing her hair. However, it is the pattern in the image that is the artist's focus: his mother's dress, the wallpaper, the carpet and within the reflection in the mirror. In fact, his mother is almost presented like a still life object, alongside the patterned textiles and furniture. A quiet charm infuses the painting as Vuillard expresses the wonder of colour, shape, pattern and form to be found in the everyday.

Pierre Bonnard, The Evening Meal, 1903, (oil on canvas)

Does the door on the left-hand side of this painting swing open or closed? Are we intruding on this intimate family moment or have we been invited in by the artist? The scene shows Bonnard's sister and her two children seated by lamplight at the table, the dark shadows contrasting with the single light source to create a cosy, intimate atmosphere. This interest in light seems to aligh with Impressionist thinking, but Bonnard was in fact a member of Les Nabis, a group of artists who set themselves apart from the Impressionists and focused on decorative motifs and domestic life.

Andre Derain, Portrait of Bartolomeo Savona, 1906, (oil on canvas)

When Detain and his close associate Henri Matisse exhibited in Paris in 1905, they were dubbed Les Fauves, (the Wild Beasts) due to their use of bold brustrokes and unrealistic colour, often used directly from the rube of paint without mixing. Derain revels in the use of colour in this portrait, in the bright yellow of the background and the streaks of red and blue in the sitter's hair. The portrait also reveals the influence of Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin.

Pierre-August Renoir, Young Woman Seated, 1876-7, (oil on canvas)

Unlike most Impressionists, Renoir focused on figurative subjects rather than landscapes. Here, he captures Nini Lopez, one of his favourite models, with loose swirls of oranges, reds, greens and blues typical of the Impressionist palette in this period. Renoir imbues the work with a sense of femininity and sensuality, slowing the model lounging in her chair and reaching up to touch her pink mouth and cheeks. Rather than seeking to depict an individual, here he is interested in colour and feeling.