A ‘penchant for the dramatic’: Rothenstein and Modern Theatre

While not directly referencing any specific scene in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House (1879), Rothenstein’s choice of title for his 1899 work The Doll’s House 1899 (Tate N03189; fig.1) is telling in its allusion to the subject and narrative of modern theatre. In connecting his work with Ibsen, Rothenstein was directly associating himself with contemporary developments in the theatre and, by extension, identifying himself as an intelligent participant in issues relating to modern painting. The painting, which depicts Rothenstein’s actress wife Alice and fellow artist Augustus John, is a curious and ambiguous work which, as contemporary critics noted, reflects the general ambience and narrative of Ibsen’s narrative: ‘the design is arresting, the colour quiet and restrained, but in all the quiet there is a sense of impending drama which seems the quintessence of Ibsenism.