October 17, 1938. 10a.m. (The king of the castle)
1938
Medium
oil on composition board
Measurements
41.8 × 52.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased NGV Foundation with the assistance of the Duncan Elphinstone McBryde Leary Bequest, 2011
© the artist's estate
Gallery location
Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
The subject of this striking Surrealist work has been cogently described by British Surrealism expert Michel Remy in his 1999 book Surrealism in Britain: ‘It represents the child’s phantasmagoric hesitation between leaving the mother’s womb or bed, or staying inside it. The imagery is simple: a sharp-toothed mouth draws a huge tongue with the crowned child-king at its very tip – the bad mother who has released the child too early – while the belly displays a bed with a mother and child clasping each other and a little cot occupied by a baby safely hidden away under the mother’s bed – the good, protective mother.’
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Cornwall, England
Inscription
inscribed in blue paint l.r.: R MEDNIKOFF
inscribed (inverted) in pencil on reverse c.: Oct 17 1938 - 10am
inscribed in fibre-tipped pen on reverse u.c.l.: The king of the Castle / RMednikoff / Garrick / Port Isaac / Cornwall
Accession Number
2011.377
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Fantasy Human Figures
Subjects (specific)
arms (animal components) beds (furniture) creatures hands (animal components) infants monsters (legendary beings) multi-coloured sleeping
Movements
Surrealism