The Girl in the Green Jumper: My Life with the Artist Cyril Mann

by Renske Mann, Mark Hudson (Foreword by)

Overview

When it comes to deciding the most tragic British artist of the 20th century, Cyril Mann (1911-80) must be a contender.

Mann made a number of genuinely innovative breakthroughs and certainly had the potential to become one of the most important figurative painters of his time. Yet, struggling with mental health problems, Mann had an unerring instinct for turning each moment of promise into bitter disappointment.

In 1959, Renske van Slooten fell in love with Mann who was more than twice her age. Renske was convinced she discovered a genius and she promised to dedicate her life to him as muse, model and money earner. Their struggles quickly threatened to overwhelm them.

The Girl in a Green Jumper is not only an enthralling story set against the backdrop of 1960s London, but it also charts in detail the struggles an artist goes through, both creatively and financially. Renske also gives fascinating insights into the way that Cyril's painting technique evolved over time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781910258514
Publisher:	Gemini Books Group
Publication date:	05/01/2022
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Mark Hudson is the art critic of the Independent, and the author of Titian, the Last Days (Bloomsbury). His books on people and places have won some of Britain's most prestigious literary awards: the Somerset Maugham Award and the Thomas Cook Award for Our Grandmothers' Drums, and the NCR Award (precursor of the Baillie Gifford Prize) for Coming Back Brockens. His forthcoming work London, While I Wasn't Looking is a sprawling, collaged memoir of life in the British capital.

Born in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Renske Mann sought refuge in the Netherlands with her family after Independence. Aged 20, Renske moved to London where she met Cyril Mann, a gifted, unsuccessful artist who was 28 years her senior. With little art knowledge, yet convinced of Cyril's genius, Renske offered to be his model and muse, as well as provide financial support. With Cyril's encouragement, Renske filled her educational gaps and she had a successful career in PR which allowed her to help him for the next 20 years.

Table of Contents

Introduction Mark Hudson 6

1 Meeting Cyril 10

2 About Me 14

3 Not Welcome in Our Motherland 20

4 Our First Date 26

5 About Cyril 28

6 The Artist's Model 38

7 Moving In 40

8 A Day at the Museum 42

9 Bevin Court 45

10 Technique 54

11 Social Housing 56

12 Destiny Beckons 59

13 Love Story 63

14 The Struggle Begins 66

15 Breakdown 69

16 Back to Normality 71

17 A Day at the Park 78

18 Leonard Cottrell 82

19 Jack Bernfield 85

20 Married 87

21 A Steep Learning Curve 92

22 Daring at Last 96

23 A Day at the Seaside 100

24 A Friend in Need 102

25 Politics 104

26 Party Time 106

27 The Girl in the Green Jumper 109

28 Lessons in the Art World 113

29 Visionary or Madman? 118

30 I Want to be Young 120

31 Cyril and Richard 122

32 A Brush with Fame 127

33 New Friends 130

34 What a Difference a Year Made 136

35 Inspiration in Walthamstow 142

36 Ghoulish Taste 148

37 In Love with Punk 151

38 Endgame 152

39 Crunch Year 156

40 The End 158

41 Aftermath 162

Cyril Mann - A Brief History of the Artist 165

Appendix: How it Began Liz Hodgkinson 168

Postscript Mark Hudson 170

Index 172

Picture Credits 175

Acknowledgements 176