Dum Vivimus Vivamus

	Artist: William Crosbie
	Title: Dum Vivimus Vivamus
	Year: c. 1959
	Medium: oil on board
	Dimensions:
	Suggested topic: fantasy and imagination
	Source: RSA Diploma Collection
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© the Crosbie Estate
Description: William Crosbie was a painter whose work was influenced by Fernand Leger and the Surrealists. He also carried out commissions as a mural painter and his work could be seen in public buildings in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Dum Vivimus Vivamus translates as, “let us enjoy life while we live”, and displays Crosbie's narrative or storytelling approach to painting. Here he has brought together a collection of images, some drawn from earlier periods of art, to create a scene representing vivacity and well-being. The idea behind this work is “the garden of earthly delights”, a theme which was popular with artists from early times such as Breughel and Bosch in the 16th century. Crosbie has depicted elements such as an apple tree, figures who may be Adam and Eve, an ark and animals - all of which may point to biblical subject matter. The large tree trunk has an eerie quality about it, looking very like an animal's body with the limbs cut away.The painting has been executed in a deep tonal range using mostly heavy earthy tones and deep blues.This adds to the feeling of drama. Care has been taken over the figures and the shading is delicately handled. The bright red boat at the centre draws the viewer into the image. The composition shows overlapping objects and figures that seem strange in relation to each other.This probably stems from the influence of the surrealists who often painted reality in a dreamlike or nightmarish way. Some things are out of scale in comparison with the objects beside them, such as the large bugs beside the sleeping figure. Crosbie has deliberately placed the sea at the top of the painting in place of what we would normally expect to see, the sky; and the waves seem to be filled with angelic figures. The painting feels a little claustrophobic, because it does not have a true horizon line. Can you imagine a narrative or story which could grow out of this painting?