Peter de Francia
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At Work

At Work

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  • Portraits, Figures
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Following in the footsteps of Renato Guttuso and Fernand Léger, de Francia found from his very earliest career a natural subject in the sight of workers at work. Whether captured scaling ladders or scaffolding, or resting for a picnic in the quarry near his summer home in Lacoste, or lounging around the docks chatting and smoking, these figures are always presented with an empathy and sensitivity that manages entirely to avoid Romanticism, as though mounting an objective case for the dignity of life.

    • Figure on a Ladder, 1953 Charcoal and graphite on paper 55.8 x 37.9cm Tate
      Figure on a Ladder, 1953
      Charcoal and graphite on paper
      55.8 x 37.9cm
      Tate
    • Lavender Distillery, 1950s Oil on canvas
      Lavender Distillery, 1950s
      Oil on canvas
    • Lavender Distillery with Worker, 1956 Oil on canvas 41 x 30.5cm
      Lavender Distillery with Worker, 1956
      Oil on canvas
      41 x 30.5cm
    • Untitled (Lacoste Quarries – Man at Work), 1957 Ink on paper 25 x 35cm
      Untitled (Lacoste Quarries – Man at Work), 1957
      Ink on paper
      25 x 35cm
    • Untitled (Lacoste Quarries Worker), 1957 Ink on paper 56 x 38cm
      Untitled (Lacoste Quarries Worker), 1957
      Ink on paper
      56 x 38cm
    • Picnic in the Quarry at Lacoste, 1958 Oil on board 44cm x 97cm
      Picnic in the Quarry at Lacoste, 1958
      Oil on board
      44cm x 97cm
    • Dockers, 1960 Charcoal on paper 46cm x 58cm
      Dockers, 1960
      Charcoal on paper
      46cm x 58cm
    • Four Workmen, 1960 Oil on canvas 106 x 152.5cm
      Four Workmen, 1960
      Oil on canvas
      106 x 152.5cm
    • Profile of a male worker in a hat, 1960–61 Graphite on paper 35.5 x 25.2cm
      Profile of a male worker in a hat, 1960–61
      Graphite on paper
      35.5 x 25.2cm
    • Man Carrying a Child, 1962 Charcoal on paper 114.8 x 89.3cm Tate
      Man Carrying a Child, 1962
      Charcoal on paper
      114.8 x 89.3cm
      Tate
    • Three Quarrymen, c. 1968 Oil on linen 212 x 152cm National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
      Three Quarrymen, c. 1968
      Oil on linen
      212 x 152cm
      National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
    • Figures in a Farmyard, 1972 Charcoal on paper 76.3 x 56cm Tate
      Figures in a Farmyard, 1972
      Charcoal on paper
      76.3 x 56cm
      Tate
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