Notes

Robert Hodgins held especially two poets in great
esteem: W.H. Auden and Constantine Cavafy. Quotes
from Auden poems frequently appear on the back of
his canvases or feature as titles of his works. Cavafy, ‘that
Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely
motionless at a slight angle to the universe’, according
to E.M. Forster, wrote over 150 poems, never published in
his lifetime, and rather preferred to share them through
local newspapers and magazines, or give them away to
interested readers.
Hodgins related to Cavafy’s philosophical poems in
which such themes as isolation, duty, and human dignity
are addressed. Hodgins often distinguished between
‘subject matter’ and ‘content’, and isolation, duty, and
human dignity can be seen as some of the content of
many of his portraits and figure studies.
Many of Hodgins’ figures have the same sensual
lyricism of Cavafy’s homoerotic poems, his figures
exuding provocative glamour but, at the same time,
stepping into a less accepting world that makes them
vulnerable.

Provenance

Estate Late Robert Hodgins.

Exhibited

Hodgins House November to December 2019.

Literature

Hodgins House (2019) Robert Hodgins Drawings From his Studio, Drawing Insights, Johannesburg: Jan Neethling, catalogue accompanying retrospective exhibition, illustrated in colour on page 49.