Wednesday, Nov 24, 2021

Within the archives of the Bridget McDonnell Gallery are a small group of painted sketches from Nada Hunter’s time in Paris in the 1950s. These paintings are not the florals that we typically identify with Nada’s work but are small sketches of parks, buildings, bridges and public places in Paris, including scenes of life along the Seine. They are painted in a range of vibrant hues and are often painted onto coloured backgrounds with broad brush strokes that further bring the scenes to life.

One such picture is Pont St Marie (1956). We know that in the 1950s Nada was living in Paris and studying at the Académie Julian and these sketches could be seen to reflect the school’s post-impressionist influences. The subject of this study is the life around Pont Marie. Pont Marie is a stone arch bridge constructed in 1605, which connects the right bank, from the quai de l’hotel de ville, with the Ile St Louis. On the opposite side of the island the Pont de la Tournelle creates the link with the left bank allowing for a flow of traffic from one side of central Paris to the other.

The scene depicts a peaceful view of everyday life, of a quieter Parisian world prior to the immense popularity of Paris as a travel destination, with a hint of what could be Notre Dame in the background.

Karen Treloar  2021