Svendborg Harbour, Denmark

This claustrophobic depiction of boats in a crowded harbour, a classic symbol of exile, was painted during the artist’s brief stay in Denmark after he fled Nazi Germany in 1934. Despite the traumatic experience of flight, it is full of energy and colour. Drawing on his German expressionist roots, Bloch pares down form into simple shapes and conveys emotion through the use of heightened purples, greens and mustard yellows. The compression of the perspective into a single, suffocating plane jams the boats against the harbour and creates a distinct uneasiness. This is one of three works by Bloch in the Ben Uri Collection.