W. Gordon Smith, ed. Fallen Angels: Paintings by Jack Vettriano. (1994)

    W. Gordon Smith, ed. Fallen Angels: Paintings by Jack Vettriano. (1994) Smith, a great admirer of Vettriano, collected stories, poems, and fragments to juxtapose with the paintings. Smith’s choices have the same sort of eerie effect as Vettriano’s paintings: a cross between Edward Hopper and film noir, with a more than a whiff of a deep, almost despairing sadness. Yet despite the darkness in Vettriano’s paintings, a darkness emphasised by his handling of chiaroscuro, there is an odd air of innocence surrounding these sinners. Or perhaps it’s more an atmosphere of making the best sense of a world that doesn’t make sense. The effect is a gaiety that undercuts the sadness; I suspect that Vettriano is playing a joke on us, mocking our taking his paintings so seriously. The allusions to pulp fiction support this guess at Vettriano’s intentions. Not that it matters much: the paintings have their own attraction and power. One doesn’t need to second-guess their maker. In any case, I would like to have a Vettriano, but since they now sell in the 5 figures and up, I doesn’t look like I will. *** (2004)