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拍品專文
Recording his impressions of his visit to Jamaica in late 1950, Minton wrote of ‘coloured inks, of over-ripe fruit, acid yellows, magentas, viridians, sharp like a discord. The vegetation, intricate, speckled and enormous, seems to grow before the eyes, bursting with sap, throttling itself in coils towards the sun’ (John Minton, quoted in F. Spalding, Dance till the Stars Come Down: A Biography of John Minton, London, 2005, p. 155).
This observation forms the blueprint for this painting’s composition and radiant palette. There is an almost overwhelming sense of nature’s abundance; two figures are dwarfed by huge tangles of foliage, rendered in countless shades of green and earthy reds. Minton stayed with plantation owners for some of his visit, and his writings and paintings, such as Jamaican Village (sold in these Rooms on 23 November 2016, lot 8, for a world auction price of £293,000), record his unease at the racial inequality and political tension he observed. However, despite the colonial theme, Banana Plantation’s vibrant colours and relaxed conversing figures make its atmosphere one of escapism and repose.
The trip was highly productive for Minton, and four of his Jamaican paintings including Banana Plantation were exhibited at the Lefevre Gallery in September 1951. Another, Jamaican Landscape, was a large 45 x 60 in. work commissioned for the ground-breaking 60 Paintings for ’51 exhibition, part of the Festival of Britain. Jamaican Landscape is now presumed lost, but the photograph in the accompanying exhibition catalogue shows striking similarities to the present work, particularly in the treatment of the drooping banana tree.
This observation forms the blueprint for this painting’s composition and radiant palette. There is an almost overwhelming sense of nature’s abundance; two figures are dwarfed by huge tangles of foliage, rendered in countless shades of green and earthy reds. Minton stayed with plantation owners for some of his visit, and his writings and paintings, such as Jamaican Village (sold in these Rooms on 23 November 2016, lot 8, for a world auction price of £293,000), record his unease at the racial inequality and political tension he observed. However, despite the colonial theme, Banana Plantation’s vibrant colours and relaxed conversing figures make its atmosphere one of escapism and repose.
The trip was highly productive for Minton, and four of his Jamaican paintings including Banana Plantation were exhibited at the Lefevre Gallery in September 1951. Another, Jamaican Landscape, was a large 45 x 60 in. work commissioned for the ground-breaking 60 Paintings for ’51 exhibition, part of the Festival of Britain. Jamaican Landscape is now presumed lost, but the photograph in the accompanying exhibition catalogue shows striking similarities to the present work, particularly in the treatment of the drooping banana tree.