Mark Gertler

Mark Gertler’s portrait is of his older brother Harry, holding an apple in his hand. As viewers, Harry gazes directly at us with an enigmatic smile, and holds the apple lightly with his thumb and third finger, as if offering it to us. Inspired by the work of Augustus John, Gertler used bright contrasting colours for this painting. The deep red of Harry’s lips and the apple’s warm yellow and orange tones stand out against the cool blues of the background and clothing.

• Artist Mark Gertler
• Artwork The Artist’s Brother Harry Holding an Apple
• Material FSC Certified paper and wood
• Date of work 1913
• Credit Original: Oil paint and tempera on wooden panel 51 × 35 cm Tate. Bequeathed by Mr Edgar Astaire 2015

Mark Gertler ( 1891 – 1939), born in Spitalfields, London, was a British painter of figure subjects, portraits and still-life. Brought up in severe poverty, Gertler's path into the world of painting began when he discovered WP Frith’s Autobiography in a secondhand bookshop. He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art where he met and fell in love with the painter Dora Carrington, the subject of which became the inspiration for Gilbert Cannan's novel Mendel, and the characters of Loerke in D. H. Lawrence's Women in LoveCrome Yellow were based on him. Despite his connection with the Bloomsbury Group, Gertler had limited critical success in his lifetime. Following recurring ill health and the breakdown of his marriage, he took his own life in 1939.