John M Robinson - Holofernes Finter

Oil on canvas
Meadow Arts commission, 2012

John M Robinson has developed an ambitious and fanciful series of paintings and performances based on the dramatic life and death of Sir Richard Croft, of Croft Castle in Herefordshire.

Sir Richard was obstetrician to Princess Charlotte, who would have become Queen, had she not died giving birth to a still born son in 1817. Following the tragedy and the ensuing recriminations, Sir Richard shot himself. Robinson has inserted his own narrative into the story, by adding the fictional character Holofernes Finter, imagining his influence on the downfall of Sir Richard.

Robinson undertook a series of performances at Croft, where he dressed up as both Sir Richard and Holofernes Finter. This painting, and others in the series, document his performances. He uses painting as a tool to draw our attention to the fact that all the great mess of a story can be held in an instant. Robinson always paints himself as a character: the prophet Jonah, the father of Hansel and Gretel, the time travelling artist Albrecht Dürer, and now as two people, the demon librarian Holofernes Finter and his master Sir Richard Croft.

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