Paper

Student Artwork Guide

Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)

David Bomberg

Name Class Date
David Bomberg, Study for a Painting (Compositional Study). Reproduced for reference; rights reserved by the rights holder. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
David Bomberg allpaintingsstore.com/en/artists/david-bomberg/
Artist’s dates
1890 – 1957
Original size
41 x 31 cm
Movement
Expressionism Colour and shape deliberately distorted so the picture shows an emotion rather than a likeness.

Copyright This work is still under copyright. David Bomberg died in 1957; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it remains in force until 2027. The image is shown here for classroom reference; rights remain with the rights holder.

Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Sept. 29, 2026

Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) — David Bomberg Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) — David Bomberg

How big is it?

The original measures 41 × 31 cm (height × width), drawn here beside an adult of average height.

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1890
  2. 1900
  3. 1910
  4. 1920
  5. 1930
  6. 1940
  7. 1950

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 67 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of David Bomberg (1890–1957) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1920 Main working years: 1920–1942 Late works: from 1942

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/similar/david-bomberg-study-for-a-painting-compositional-study-AQSFZN-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Rosy Brown #b0a89e

    Catalogued palette

    • #B0A89E
    • #5B5960
    • #B27245
    • #0F0E10

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Earthy The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Rosy Brown
    Intensity
    Balanced How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Statement How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Softly Mixed Palette How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Balanced How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Subtle Color How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by David Bomberg over the last twelve months — 5 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 89.1%
    2. 2 United States of America 4.3%
    3. 3 Bulgaria 2.2%
    4. 4 Spain 2.2%
    5. 5 Paraguay 2.2%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by David Bomberg

    1. 1 Ju Jitsu, 1913 5.5%
    2. 2 Mount Saint Hilarion and the Castle Ruins, 1948 5.5%
    3. 3 Alora, Andalucia, 1935 5.5%
    4. 4 Composition, 1919 5.5%
    5. 5 Sappers at Work : Canadian Tunnelling Company, R14, St Eloi, 1919 3.6%
    6. 6 Ronda, Spain, 1957 3.6%
    7. 7 Double Self Portrait (recto), 1937 3.6%
    8. 8 The St John Ophthalmic Hospital, Jerusalem, 1927 3.6%
    9. 9 Canal Bank, France, 1920 3.6%
    10. 10 The Mud Bath 3.6%
    11. 11 Flowers, Evening Gold, 1947 3.6%
    12. 12 Kitty, the Artist's Sister, 1929 3.6%
    13. 13 Study for Ghetto Theatre I, 1921 3.6%
    14. 14 David Bomberg, 1937 3.6%
    15. 15 The Broken Aqueduct, Wadi Kelt near Jericho, 1926 1.8%
    16. 16 Flowers in Sunlight, 1943 1.8%
    17. 17 Bideford, Devon, 1946 1.8%
    18. 18 Trendrine, Cornwall, 1947 1.8%
    19. 19 Ronda Bridge, Spain, 1935 1.8%
    20. — Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) this painting 0.0%

    Together these works take 67.0% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 109 works by this artist, of which 37 were looked at at least once. This painting has not been looked at yet in that time — it closes the list without a rank. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Sept. 29, 2026

    Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) — David Bomberg Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    David Bomberg

    Born in Birmingham, United Kingdom

    Early Life and Artistic Training

    Born: Birmingham, United Kingdom (December 5, 1890)

    Died: London, United Kingdom (August 19, 1957)

    One of the 'Whitechapel Boys' – a group of East End artists who emerged in the early 20th century.

    Born to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents, Abraham and Rebecca Bomberg, initially studied at the City and Guilds Technical Art School before training as a lithographer in Birmingham.

    Studied under Walter Sickert at Westminster School of Art (1908-1910), influenced by Sickert's focus on form and urban life. Significant exposure to Paul Cézanne through the 1910 Roger Fry exhibition "Manet and the Post-Impressionists." Attended the Slade School of Art (1911), winning the Tonks Prize for his drawing of fellow student Isaac Rosenberg.

    The Avant-Garde Years: Cubism, Futurism, and Controversy

    At the Slade, Bomberg was part of a remarkable generation including Mark Gertler, Stanley Spencer, C.R.W. Nevinson, and Dora Carrington.

    Influenced by the 1912 London exhibitions of Italian Futurists and Fry's second Post-Impressionist exhibition (Picasso, Matisse, Fauvists, Wyndham Lewis).

    Developed a distinctive style combining Cubism and Futurism – characterized by geometric compositions, limited color palettes, angular figures, and grid-like structures.

    His radical approach led to expulsion from the Slade School of Art in 1913, deemed too audacious for the institution's conventional methods.

    Briefly associated with Bloomsbury Group’s Omega Workshops and exhibited with the Camden Town Group. Showed affinity with Wyndham Lewis’s Vorticist movement but remained independent, refusing full involvement.

    From War to Landscape: A Shift in Style

    Experiences as a private soldier during World War I profoundly impacted his artistic vision, leading to a move away from abstraction.

    The 1920s saw Bomberg adopt a more figurative style, focusing on portraits and landscapes drawn directly from nature. Developed an increasingly expressionist technique, marked by textured impasto and emotional intensity.

    Extensive travels through the Middle East (particularly Palestine) and Europe significantly influenced his later work. His depictions of Jerusalem are particularly notable.

    Later Years and Legacy

    From 1945 to 1953, taught at Borough Polytechnic (now London South Bank University), influencing a generation of artists including Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Philip Holmes, Cliff Holden, Edna Mann, Dorothy Mead, Gustav Metzger, Dennis Creffield, Cecil Bailey and Miles Richmond.

    Married landscape painter Lilian Holt.

    Despite periods of relative obscurity during his lifetime, Bomberg's work has gained increasing recognition in recent decades as a significant contribution to British modern art.

    David Bomberg House at London South Bank University is named in his honor.

    His legacy lies in his unique synthesis of European avant-garde movements and his later development of a powerful, expressive landscape style that captured the essence of place and human experience.

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)

    allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/download/david-bomberg-study-for-a-painting-compositional-study-AQSFZN-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Bomberg, David. Study for a Painting (Compositional Study). n.d., https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/david-bomberg-study-for-a-painting-compositional-study-AQSFZN-en/
    APA
    Bomberg, David (n.d.). Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) [Painting]. https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/david-bomberg-study-for-a-painting-compositional-study-AQSFZN-en/
    Chicago
    David Bomberg. Study for a Painting (Compositional Study). n.d. https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/david-bomberg-study-for-a-painting-compositional-study-AQSFZN-en/
    Harvard
    Bomberg, David (n.d.) Study for a Painting (Compositional Study). Available at: https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/david-bomberg-study-for-a-painting-compositional-study-AQSFZN-en/

    Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Sept. 29, 2026

    Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) — David Bomberg Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) — David Bomberg

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: abstract floral, expressive brushwork, color & texture. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at Composition with Figures (1913), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Expressionism: Colour and shape deliberately distorted so the picture shows an emotion rather than a likeness. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Sept. 29, 2026

    Study for a Painting (Compositional Study) — David Bomberg Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    How intense are the colors in "Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)" by David Bomberg?

    The colors in "Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)" by David Bomberg have a balanced intensity.

    What explains the copyright situation of "Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)" by David Bomberg?

    The copyright status of "Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)" - still protected by copyright - follows from the artist's death in 1957.

    What art movement does "Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)" by David Bomberg belong to?

    "Study for a Painting (Compositional Study)" by David Bomberg belongs to the Expressionism movement. This movement provides the stylistic context of the work.