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Lot Essay
Dating from 1920, Woman and Machine belongs to an important group of works in which Bomberg was returning to the pure form of his pre-war work. The overall emphasis on dymamic composition can also be seen in Barges, 1919 (Tate, London) and Ghetto Theatre, 1920 (Ben Uri Gallery, The London Jewish Museum of Art) (fig. 1). In both the present work and Ghetto Theatre, Bomberg has used muted colour schemes and closed-in focus, creating an almost claustrophobic atmosphere. The strong diagonals in Woman and Machine lead the viewer's eye upwards to the depiction of a woman awkwardly hunched over a sewing machine, her body mimicking the shape of the back of the machine and her hands clenching into fists in front of her. Through this tight composition and mirroring of form Bomberg suggests that the woman is trapped by her monotonous work and it is questionable whether the woman controls the machine, or whether it is the machine that has dominance over the woman.
Richard Cork (loc. cit) comments, 'The following year he [Bomberg] continued to explore the theme of alienation. In Woman and Machine, exhibited at a mixed show of contemporary art in the Hampstead Art Gallery, the loneliness and drudgery of sweated labour is dourly conveyed. Its grim mood becomes even more marked when compared with Edward Hopper's roughly contemporaneous treatment of a similar theme [Girl at Sewing Machine, circa 1921, Thyssen-Bornemisza collection]. Hopper, who is unlikely to have been aware of Bomberg's work, depicts his Girl at Sewing Machine as a solitary and down-at-heel figure. But the picture is not as dark and brooding as Bomberg's canvas, where woman and machine appear locked together in remorseless union'.
Richard Cork (loc. cit) comments, 'The following year he [Bomberg] continued to explore the theme of alienation. In Woman and Machine, exhibited at a mixed show of contemporary art in the Hampstead Art Gallery, the loneliness and drudgery of sweated labour is dourly conveyed. Its grim mood becomes even more marked when compared with Edward Hopper's roughly contemporaneous treatment of a similar theme [Girl at Sewing Machine, circa 1921, Thyssen-Bornemisza collection]. Hopper, who is unlikely to have been aware of Bomberg's work, depicts his Girl at Sewing Machine as a solitary and down-at-heel figure. But the picture is not as dark and brooding as Bomberg's canvas, where woman and machine appear locked together in remorseless union'.