Alex Rennie's paintings strike immediately as male - and ego-centric. Yes, influenced by Caravaggio, as he readily admits, but perhaps more subtly so by Franz von Stuck and Lovis Corinth in the Symbolist vein. In the former, the bacchanalian, and in the latter, the overpowering display of male virility. Both artists went so far as to satisfy the ideals of a recovering German nation - a return to the classical and a show of strength. So too do Rennie's paintings (re)create an ideal: a glowing London of classical proportions - its power and strength - and desire in terms of a strong unflinching male figure. Perhaps the self-confessed influence of Caravaggio is a simplistic and arrogant statement, but the work nevertheless speaks clearly of, and with, an arrogance, a confidence - through the choice of medium, its technique and its subject matter. The self-portrait has always been a means by which to transcend the 'Inevitable Demise', to maintain virility and youth (or to record said demise). Just as Rennie's renderings of St Paul's and The Royal Albert Hall speak of their timelessness, so too do self-portraits. But they have also remained a means by which the artist self-reflects; yet here I see no room for soul-searching but rather the confidence to slay an army. Whether the viewer can overcome the abundance of art historical references that stand in the way is another matter.
Ashley Eldridge-Ford
Having completed her MA at the Courtauld last year, Ashley Eldridge-Ford, is currently working within the art PR world and writing in her spare time.
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