There is currently an exhibition at Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) of 20th century paintings selected from the collection of the local museums by the artists who took part in last year's Picture Show. One of the paintings on display (that also gives the title to the exhibition) is the set design for “The Ballet of the Palette” (1942) by Josef Herman (1911-2000).
Born in Warsaw, Poland, to a Jewish working class family, Herman studied at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts and worked as graphic designer. With the rise of anti-Semitism and the start of World War II, Herman fled Poland for Belgium, setting in Glasgow in 1940. At the time, Estonian-born Jewish sculptor Benno Schotz was the Head of Sculpture and Ceramics at The Glasgow School of Art, while Herman's friend, the painter Jankel Adler from Warsaw, was also living in the city, and the three artists became quite close.
Herman was more known for celebrating in his paintings the working class and being inspired by subjects such as grape pickers, fishermen and coal miners, but, while in Glasgow and living through rather dark times, he made the sketches for "The Ballet of the Palette”. Suspended between fantasy and surrealism, the ballet was a 30 minute-long semi-surrealistic extravaganza with a story focused on a large lazy brush and a small energetic brush.
The backdrop was supposed to be an unfinished painting by Herman with his signature moon hanging in the background, while in the foreground a palette was ready to be filled with the other characters in the ballet – the colours. Each colour had its own characteristics and movements: Blue was moody and slow; Green was youthful and spring like; Pink was graceful with lots of vitality; Red was vivacious and dynamic and White was fast. Awoken by the little brush, the colours started dancing, but it was only when the big brush joined in that the stage became a frenzy of inspiration.
Performed by Morris' Celtic Ballet Club, set up by Margaret Morris, dancer, choreographer, teacher, writer and artist (and wife/muse of Scottish Colourist J.D. Fergusson), the ballet was performed 15 times in 1942, with revivals in 1944 and 1945 and was always well received.
Visitors of the GoMA exhibition will rediscover Herman's set design, his sketches for the characters' costumes (some of them - check out the costume for the Pink shade - have a dynamic quality about them that makes you think about the Italian Futurist's works) and also some pictures relating to the ballet.
Historically there has always been a tradition of artists working for the ballet or the theatre with avant-garde groups, but Herman's work is particularly interesting since it was developed in Scotland by an artist who usually focused on very different themes.
"The Ballet of the Palette" may not be that well known, but it is worth rediscovering it since it metaphorically represents a romatic story between the painter and the process, but also because its fantasy and surrealism developed in dark times are the perfect recipe to inspire us to get on with our lives, even in the bleakest of times.
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