The Perspective Lesson
Signed Print

One of the stranger works in the Moving Focus series, The Perspective Lesson shows a wood and wicker chair in a dark room. On the wall behind it is a picture of a chair with a red cross scored through it. Here Hockney makes an obvious reference to van Gogh whose wicker chair is perhaps the best known in art history, and while this could be read as an homage it is also a playful refusal. Instead of representing a naturalistic chair, Hockney chooses to subvert the object and the tradition by playing with the angles of his chair, skewing the perspective of the seat and legs to make it almost childlike in shape. Further contrast between the chairs is set by Hockney's portrayal of the floor, covered in a brightly coloured carpet with a busy pattern while the chair in the picture sits on carefully ordered floorboards. Dating to 1984–1986 Moving Focus shows a playful experimental turn in Hockney’s printmaking oeuvre, which sees him embrace bold colours and multiple perspectives to striking effect. Influenced by Cubism as well as his many photographic collages, Moving Focus also demonstrates the artist’s confidence with lithography and his unfailing ability to push the limits of his chosen medium.