Preparing to bathe

This dynamic oil of Tuke's boat-keeper, Charlie Mitchell was painted in the summer of 1910 on Newporth beach, Falmouth. Probably painted in one sitting it encapsulates Tuke's ability to sum up the movement in the model's pose and the subtlety of light and colour on skin against water. Painted at the height of his Impressionist period, it illustrates Tuke's confidence to convey the moment in a minimal number of brushstrokes. This study was for one of the main figures in Tuke's major painting Gleaming Waters, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1911, no. 441.
We are grateful to Catherine Wallace for preparing this catalogue entry.