L. S. Lowry: the Project of the Working Class Environment

In 1909 English painter L. S. Lowry moved to the industrial town of Pendlebury, the environment which would later inspire him for several years. Row houses in bricks, chimneys and smoke, mills and warehouses were the recurrent subjects of Lowry’s vast canvas, constant presences out of his minimal vocabulary.

The depicted elements -fragments of the artist’s daily memories- are translated into simple forms, stylized and then combined in order to establish an infinite sequence of invented industrial cityscapes. The scenes are densely populated by little figures, the workers, absorbed in their daily activities and drawn in an almost cartoon-like style. With his obsessive paintings, Lowry provided the visual narrative of 20th century industrial England, an oppressive world absorbing the whole existence of the workers. Looking small and dull, they’re phantoms overwhelmed by pervasive blackened towns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© the estate of L. S. Lowry

Further reading:

LS Lowry: the industrial revolution