Explore The Painting ‘Self-Portrait (With Moth And Caterpillar)’ By Rita Angus

‘Self-portrait (with moth and caterpillar)’, pencil and watercolour on paper, 1943

Te Papa

With Te Papa Curator Modern Art Lizzie Bisley

Self-portrait (with moth and caterpillar) (1943) by Rita AngusTe Papa

Rita Angus painted this watercolour self-portrait in 1943

At the time she was living at Sumner beach, outside Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Self-portrait (with moth and caterpillar) (1943) by Rita AngusTe Papa

We see the sweep of the bay behind her

and hazy hills in the distance.

The work is unfinished – Angus' face and hair are perfectly painted

but her body is only sketched in pencil.

The watercolour is full of symbols of spring and renewal.

A moth and a caterpillar sit on Angus’ right shoulder.

The woman standing on the beach may be an allegory for Spring.

Spring is sometimes represented as a woman with a spade in European art.

A snake is twined peacefully around Angus’ left shoulder, suggesting harmony with the natural world. 

This work was painted during World War II. It shows Angus’s faith in renewal, and the cycles of nature.

Self-portrait (with moth and caterpillar), Rita Angus, 1943, From the collection of: Te Papa
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Credits: Story

Text by Te Papa curators Lizzie Bisley and Hanahiva Rose, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2022.
All images reproduced courtesy of the Estate of Rita Angus. 

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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