Keith Vaughan
Superflumina Babylonis, c.1960
pen, ink and sepia wash
16 x 16 cm; and 16 x 20 cm (two works framed as one)
The title of this work, “Super Flumina Babylonis”, relates to Psalm 137 and in English translates to “By the rivers of Babylon”. The psalm is one of most powerful and...
The title of this work, “Super Flumina Babylonis”, relates to Psalm 137 and in English translates to “By the rivers of Babylon”. The psalm is one of most powerful and evocative in the Old Testament and relates to the period of the Israelites in exile. It has often been set to music . The figure in the smaller work is possibly playing a lute (or similar) and the lower figure, appears perhaps to be playing a harp or hanging it from a tree (another reference to the psalm text).
Provenance
Redfern Gallery 1996Peter Cotterill