Arty Farty Friday ~ Walter Sickert & Jack the Ripper

Walter Sickert, German-born painter, teacher and art critic, raised in England, was born 31 May, 1860. He has been suggested as responsible for the Jack the Ripper murders in London, mainly by novelist Patricia Cornwell who spent gobs of money obtaining DNA from his paintings, having it compared to DNA from a letter allegedly writter by "the Ripper". Result has been proved inconclusive. Details in a 2005 piece by James Parker at Boston Globe.



Excerpt:

Sickert is certainly a seductive candidate for the Ripper role. An evasive, protean man, with a taste for squalor and a habit of skulking around London's East End, he took a keen interest in the Ripper murders.
He painted a series of crepuscular Ripper-themed works, including one titled "Jack the Ripper's Bedroom," and liked to spook his models by wearing a red Ripper scarf. And Cornwell established, at vast expense, a far-from-conclusive DNA link between Sickert and one or two letters allegedly written by the Ripper.

The twin pillars of her argument however, were psychological and circumstantial. Sickert, in her rendering, was a bohemian psychopath born with a genital fistula "requiring surgeries when he was a toddler that would have left him disfigured if not mutilated" (and driven to murder as a consequence). Additionally, she claimed that it couldn't be proved that Sickert was not in London in August 1888, when the Ripper was at the bloody peak of his activities.
In his postscript, however, Sturgis quietly produces evidence that those childhood "surgeries" were not, in fact, for a genital fistula, and that far from stalking the gaslit alleys in August 1888, Sickert was holidaying in France with his mother. So Sickert passes into the realm of purely fantastical Ripperology, where he will dwell alongside fellow "suspects" Prince Albert and Lewis Carroll.

Theorising on crimes so long past, and using persons so long gone as potential culprits, might provide conspiracy theorists with hours of fun, but to my mind this is neither a healthy nor admirable pastime - but it probably sells books!

Walter Sickert was born in Germany, his father and grandfather were artists, his mother, said to be the illegitimate daughter of English astronomer Richard Sheepshanks, was in receipt of monies from a relative, and was likely the family's mainstay financially. The Sickerts moved to England in 1868. Walter's sister Helena became a writer and champion of women's rights. His own first choice of career was the theatre, but this seemingly didn't take off. He began studying art as assistant to James McNeill Whistler. Later, in Paris he met and was strongly influenced by, Edgar Degas.

Sickert's best known style depicts sombre indoor scenarios, aspects of theatre, or of London's Camden Town's sleazier, seedy corners, featuring prostitutes or showgirls. His general style is classed as British Impressionism.

Astrology

Born on 31 May 1860 in Munich, Germany. No time of birth available, so 12 noon chart shown below.




Walter Sickert is reported to have been "cosmopolitan and eccentric...favored ordinary people and urban scenes as his subjects". It's not hard to identify "eccentric" in this natal chart! Uranus, planet of eccentricity sandwiched between Sun and Mercury (at the very center of his self and the way his mind worked, forming a stellium (cluster) in Gemini the communcation sign.

Venus, planet of the arts is conjunct Jupiter in Cancer, sign of sensitivity and sentimentality. Being translated in this context = Jupiter's exaggerating tendencies coming through Sickert's painting style. Jupiter is normally thought of as bright and benign though. In his case I'd say there's a exaggeratedly dismal quality to much of his painting. Cancer also connects to a tendency to withdraw into a home base - in much of his work, Sickert has depicted this - albeit a rather seedy home scene peopled by ladies who "did what they had to do" to get by.

I'm a bit surprised not to find Pluto more closely involved. Moon at 12 noon was in late Libra - if Sickert were born after 4pm Moon would have moved into Scorpio, which seems to me to be quite apt for the dark atmosphere he often portrayed.

Images of Sickert's paintings don't tranlate too well on-line. I guess this is one instance where "you have to be there" - at an exhibition, I mean. Here are a few examples:

ENNUI



JACK THE RIPPER'S BEDROOM



THE CAMDEN TOWN MURDER











CAMDEN TOWN NUDES