The second marriage
(1963)
Medium
oil, gouache and collage of torn wallpaper on canvas
Measurements
197.8 × 228.7 cm irreg.
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Presented by the Contemporary Art Society of London, 1965
© David Hockney
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
David Hockney’s The second marriage is a visual essay exploring sexuality and domestic relations. Made in 1963, it followed The first marriage, 1962, painted during a creative phase inspired by a European trip. When visiting the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Hockney had been amused by the paired profile of a friend standing alongside a sculpture of an Egyptian woman. It motivated him to explore the visual pairings of a married couple. Despite the unplanned feel of the picture, The second marriage was the result of numerous preparatory sketches. Focusing on the groom in particular in his studies, Hockney may have intended for this work to be an ironic self-portrait.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in brown fibre-tipped pen on reverse: The Second Marriage DAVID HOCKNEY
Accession Number
1525-5
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)
Human Figures Interiors Relationships and Interactions
Subjects (specific)
bridegrooms brides couples marriage (social construct) seated figures spouses wedding dresses weddings (ceremonies)
Movements
Pop (fine arts styles)
Frame
The thin, timber strip framing on The second marriage became a default presentation of paintings in art schools in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Formed from thin rectangular sections of timber pinned through the tacking edges into the wooden stretchers and strainers on which the canvas is stretched, they serve to cover the tacks and staples used to secure canvases to stretchers and strainers. In the case of this work the corners are butted together rather than mitred.
In the 1980’s this work had a large L section frame built from hardwood and fitted around the thin wooden strip, to add rigidity to the assembly of three stretched canvasses.
In more recent times the reverse has been re-enforced with aluminium composite board which holds the three pieces firmly in plane, allowing the painting to be returned to display in the strip frame.
Frame Details
Framemaker
Unknown - 20th century
Date
c.1963
Materials
timber