The Artist Ithell Colquhoun, Wine and Symbolism in the Painting Song of Soloman
Margret Ithell Colquhoun was born in Shillong Eastern Bengal in 1906 and died in Cornwall England in 1988. She was an artist, poet, author and occultist. She has been closely associated with the Surrealist movement and was at one time part of The British Surrealist Movement. (Ithell Colquhoun 2022). However, the Belgian artist E.L.T Messens leader of this movement feared the dispersal of the group following the outbreak of the Second World War and a meeting of members and outlined certain rules and regulations that members must adhere to. These included the banning of any association with proletariat revolution or membership of secret societies. This divisive moment for the group would culminate in the departure of Ithell amongst others. (Ferentinou, 2011). The Painting Song of Soloman was completed several years after this break took place.
In general, her painting her paintings are often of a spiritual nature and the surrealist movement that she broke away from was a major influence. At her most figurative she does not shy away from any intimacy and often offers her male nudes in an unflattering and flaccid light. Her representations of the female figure are always more flattering, and she often puts women in positions of power and dominance. Art historians have argued that she sought to rebalance the male dominated and masculine centric world of the surrealists. Her occultic interest in alchemy drove her to create her own symbols and meanings and over time narratives emerged. However real reading or meaning was personal to Ithell and ours is subjective and helped with understanding of alchemy. For instance, her desire to represent a post gender being aligned with both male and female aspects and yet transcending both is in accord with ancient teachings and evolves with increasing strength from her earlier works up to her later offerings. The idea of the individual and therefore gender being incomplete and the ideal being a state of conjoined intersex or a nonbinary ambiguity. The self always being completed by the opposite. One this transformation and transcendence occurs the individual has a deeper understanding of the universe and a greater awareness of the nature of existence viewed from opposite spectrum perceptions at the same time. Song of Soloman was painted in the late 1930’s when this notion was yet to fully emerge as it would do in a much more pronounced form in her later work. The couple in the painting hint at this ambiguity but fall short of immersing fully into it. Are they loving or fighting? Have they just made love or have they just fought. She has her shoes on, ready to leave or in a rush of passion neglected to remove them. Beside them a tray of fruit and a jug of wine is neglected and caught in still life form which contrasts with the writhing couple. Here is the essence of the line from the Bible and from the poem Song of Soloman that the painting takes its inspiration
‘Let him Kiss me with the kisses of the mouth, for your love is better than wine’
The poem is an exception in Biblical terms in that it explicitly alludes to the erotic pleasures of sensualness and abandon. It is a chapter that has provoked much conversation and its influence can even be witnessed in contemporary pop culture and has indeed been with songs by Stephen Tin Tin Duffy and Kate Bush taking inspiration from the lines. Wine is mentioned but as a secondary theme to more sexual acts. In Alchemy wine has deeply symbolic meaning dating back as far as medieval times when it was valued for its ability to transform directly into blood within the human body and the word blood was often used to describe wine and indeed recipes containing ‘blood of the grape’ were seen as powerful medicines. (Dixon ,1982). But here this medicine is no longer needed as the kisses suggest something much more powerful than medicine or mere intoxication.
In spiritual terms Colquhoun chose many paths of discovery and at one time or another she investigated and was involved with many esoteric orders. Her most recent biographer Amy Hale describes her as Perennialist which is a philosophy that emerged from the Rennaissance suggesting that all great spiritual paths seek the same universal wisdom. She goes on to point out that Ithel may always have held on to some fundamental essence of the Christianity she was born into, and themes of Christ and the Bible are often delt with in her paintings. (Hale, 2020). The obvious transformative nature and symbolism of wine within the Christian tradition and the miracle of Christs transforming water into wine as well as the repeated miracle in the mass of wine into blood. These ideas were present in her art and the everyday mysteries of Christian practice are alluded to here and in many of her other works.
In the painting the wine has been cast to one side as the main event is very much the couple actions. Perhaps a discarded picnic that may be returned to. And much like Ithell's adhering to the core of her Christian beliefs or fundamentally incorporating facets of them into her work its representation and its symbolic reference to transformation is pivotal to the reading and meaning of this artwork. In other words, wine is not the main event, but its presence is crucial to the overall occult and hidden meanings she conjures up. Transformation is the central theme and one of the main themes she returns to repeatedly in her art. Ithel Colquhoun always the outsider always on the margins but able to grapple with and grasp major themes and to project meaning and universality into her work whose symbols evoke though conjured from many paths. Wine is not a recurring theme in her art but its presence here is suggestive of many things for the artist and the viewer. The 1930’s brought much change to her life and would be the beginning of paths she would continue on for much of the rest of her life. Her real artistic muscles had yet to be flexed but the seeds are very much sown. Her desire for knowledge and learning of the many facets of the occult and spirituality gave her many insights into symbols and their meaning. But like any advanced practitioner of magic the symbols become imbued with the persons own meaning and lexicon of beliefs. In later years Ithell would go on to produce her own tarot deck with all arcana represented not in a figurative manner but instead by swirls of colour. This creates an interesting intersection of interpretation of the personal the universal and an exchange then between the interpreter and the interpreted.
Wine is traditionally seen as a symbol of transformation and in alchemical terms transformation is the constant act of renewal, the integration of which is the ultimate goal. The stone becomes the philosophers stone, lead becomes gold, the massa confusa becomes the elixir of life. (na. 2012). Carl Jung stated that the alchemical processes could be viewed by the contemporary individual as the process of personal change which brings us into greater understanding of our true selves. Our personal and relevant symbols be they present consciously or unconsciously should be acknowledged if we are to be enlightened and to grow. Wine as a symbol from unconscious universally means you may have reached a place of calm in your life where you can take stock of your endeavours and be glad for what you have.
Ihhell Colquhoun is not an easy subject to uncover and her work is not easily interpreted. She came from a privileged background and was lucky to be affluent enough to devote her life to her passions. Over time she became increasingly reclusive and ended her days alone in her studio in Cornwall where she had been living a for many years. In the valley next to her home lived the gender non-conforming artist Gluck and their lover Nesta Obermer and even though these people shared many commonalities Ithell chose not to accept offers of friendship or companionship. In more recent years her work has grown in popularity, and she has been the subject of several biographies. Her notions of non-binary existence and feminist standpoints were outside of the norm of the world she lived in but she never shied away from allowing her art to connect to her beliefs and in a new era her spirit lives on in harmony now with more current ideas. She was however and remains a prickly subject.