The foil

The Foil (1901), by Hugh Ramsay and now at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, is one of his Paris figure paintings whose title suggests a theatrical or musical context — a foil being a person who serves as contrast to another, or possibly a reference to fencing. Ramsay often gave his Paris figure studies allusive titles that elevated studio portraits into something more resonant. The AGNSW work is a key example of his mature Paris style.

Ramsay's Paris work from 1901 shows a young artist fully in command of his technique: paint applied with confidence, the figure's essential volumes established with economical marks, the face resolved with focused intensity. Light falls from a definite source, creating the tonal drama he valued.