Modern Mixed Media Work by John Emanuel (1930–2024) Reclining Nude

John Emanuel (1930–2024)

Reclining Nude

Mixed Media: Gouache, ink and pencil

Signed lower right

36 x 52 cm

54 x 71 cm (frame)

John Emanuel (1930–2024) was a Cornish-based British artist known for his serene figurative work that merges the human body with the landscape. Largely self-taught but helped by Alex Mackenzie, Denis Mitchell and John Wells, he developed a distinctive style after moving to St Ives in the 1960s, working from the historic Porthmeor Studios. He became a professional artist in the 1970s.

Refined and reduced to only the most crucial line and tones, this nude by John Emanual typifies his translation of the Cornish landscape into female forms. A fine example of his mixed media work in gouache, ink and pencil, the scale of these pieces and the satisfying hues of seascape blues, earthy ochre and burning red tones make great use of negative space to delineate the female form in close-up.

Emanuel’s mixed-media drawings, paintings, and prints focus on simplified, sculptural nudes integrated with the rhythms of the natural world. Exhibited widely across the UK, he became a respected figure in the Cornish art community and a member of the Penwith Society of Artists. His work is celebrated for its quiet intimacy, clarity of line, and deep sense of place.

Exhibitions

Emanuel was a member of the Penwith Society of Arts and the Newlyn Society of Artists. Multiple solo exhibitions between 1975-2005 include five shows at the Wills Lane Gallery, St. Ives, Montpelier Studio, London. His group shows from 1976 include Basel Art Fair 1978, Cleveland International Drawing Biennale, 1979, Oldham Art Gallery 1982-83, Beaux Arts Bath 1989, A Century of Art in Cornwall, Truro 1989, and Contemporary Art Fair, London 1992. He has also exhibited at the RWA and a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Penwith Gallery in 2005.