All the Colours of the Rainbow, 1942
Menu
Your currently viewing RAW Modern | Switch to RAW Contemporary
Your currently viewing RAW Modern | Switch to RAW Contemporary
All the Colours of the Rainbow, 1942
All Colours of the Rainbow was a commercial commission for Imperial Chemical Industries. As part of a team of creatives, Zinkeisen was asked to document the work of the company. Although this painting was ultimately created to promote the production of chemical dyes, it is about so much more. The young woman in a simple dress and headscarf finds a quiet moment to stitch her patchwork; we can only imagine the infinite colours of the fragments of fabrics and the fleeting memories just perceptible across her face. She is reminiscent of a Tuscan Quattrocento Madonna. I am quite sure this was Anna’s message: one of deep spirituality, humbleness and – with the view out onto the rolling hills – hope for a better future.
Zinkeisen painted another version of ‘All Colours of the Rainbow’ entitled ‘From the Studio’ in black and white from the same year.
Anna Zinkeisen studied drawing and anatomy before winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy Schools in 1916 to study sculpture – exhibiting at the RA in 1919 and winning the Landseer Award in 1920 and 1921. On leaving the RA, she worked with her sister Doris on murals for the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth liners and produced notable portraits. She also provided illustrations for several books, including Sophy Cassmajor by Margery Sharp, published in 1934. While volunteering as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital during the Second World War, Zinkeisen made pathological drawings of war injuries for the Royal College of Surgeons. She was awarded RDI in 1940. In her self-portrait of 1944 (held in the NPG), clutching a bundle of paint brushes and wearing the bracelet of the St John’s Ambulance Brigade, for which she was volunteering, her gaze leaves the viewer in no doubt as to her professional status.