Artist And Model

Artist And Model is a signed print by much-loved and highly regarded British artist David Hockney. Part of the Influences series, it was released in an edition of 100. Echoing another similar piece in the series, The Student (1973), in which Hockney depicts himself standing next to a bust of one of his greatest inspirations, artist Pablo Picasso, this print sees the Hockney sit face-to-face with the Spanish artist, who had died earlier in the same year. In stark contrast to the formality of The Student, which sees Hockney place his idol on a marble pedestal – a visual metaphor for his indebtedness to the artist, who served as inspiration for many of his wildly-successful artworks – here we are confronted by a view of the pair sat together, engaged in conversation. In a further example of symbolic metaphor, Hockney is nude; sat before the master artist Picasso, he is denuded of his prestige having borrowed many elements of Picasso’s œuvre and using them in his own works. In a further sign of deference towards the superstar artist, Hockney’s figure – positioned to the right of the composition – receives some kind of instruction as Picasso reads from a sheet of paper. With both figures sat at a desk, they are framed by a window and a curtain. It is easy to see traces of some of Hockney’s earlier works in these two motifs, namely the stage curtains of the Hockney And The Stage series, or the trompe l’œil picture frames of A Hollywood Collection.