John Bellany Chez Bellany, 1998

Chez Bellany (1998) depicts a lavish formal dinner within the Bellany home in Edinburgh. All the guests are facing the viewer except John Bellany at the head of the table who is turned to his wife, Helen. A large window overlooks a brightly coloured down, a clock tower, and the Firth of Forth. With restored heath and personal difficulties behind him, the 1990s provided Bellany with a newfound optimism. 

In 1996, Bellany travelled to Mexico, struck by the vibrancy of colour and the positive attitudes towards death, experienced through celebrations of the Day of the Dead. Inspiring a chromatic intensity to the works from this period, this trip had a lasting impact on Bellany, writing, ‘It was opening my eyes to colour, and I was intoxicated by it.’