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
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.
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.
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