It is believed that the composition was derived from the 'Flagellation' by Piero della Francesca in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino. It seems to represent Rose's continual concern with the abstraction of human  actions.

Brian Sinfield Gallery recently sold the work entitled 'The Sufferance of Harlequin' to an undisclosed investor. The painting was inspired by a late work of the venetian painter Titian.

Giorgio Morandi seems to have been the influence behind a painting by William Balthazar Rose recently sold by the S&D Gallery. William Balthazar Rose has been unavailable for comment, though he has been devoted to Morandi since he first saw a major retrospective of his work at the San Francisco MOMA while a student at Berkeley University. He reviewed the Morandi exhibition for 'Concrete' magazine (1981). Judging from the painting, cooks and bottles have apparent affinities.

S&D Gallery (Kensington) hosted two solo exhibitions (2013 and 2014) by William Balthazar Rose before announcing the gallery's relocation to Paris next year. The gallery near Kensington High Street, had a particularly good response to both shows.

Prize-winning entry Victoria Art Gallery, Bath

Friday, April 4, 2014
William Balthazar Rose was awarded a prize at the opening reception for the 2014 Exhibition of the Bath Society of Artists at Victoria Art Gallery in Bath.  William is a member of the society which recognized the painting 'The History of Imitation' with a stupendous prize.  The exhibition is showing through the month of April. Critics and the public appear to be deeply enamored with this mysterious and exceptional work.
The artist when contacted said the painting evolved over several years and was influenced in part by 'The Hunt' by Paolo Uccello, and by his own visitation to forests in North America.

Critics Review William's Work

“Rose has in fact achieved something far more impressive than the Hirsts and Emins by demonstrating that something genuinely new can still be created within the traditional idiom of picture-making.”  - Prof. Edward Chaney

 

“It is in this gap and the strange, almost impossible, conversation between Piero della Francesca and Franz Kafka that the work of William Rose resonates.”   -Prof. Sean Gaston

 

“At times Rose conjures late Sickert, Beckmann, Balthus, Morandi, Manet, and Cezanne, variously inimitable and idiosyncratic painters who provide an oblique benchmark for Rose’s inherent individualism and privileged position on a post-modern pluralist parapet.”  -Peter Davies

 

Artist-in-Residence at Peartree Gardens

William has been invited to paint this summer at Peartree Gardens in Litton, Somerset County.  The mature gardens are a popular tourist attraction and features an ornamental bridge and a wide variety of trees and perennials.  The love and pride of the Southwell family, the gardens are a serene environment for making art and the spacious studio has been used by two other British painters in the past.   William is most appreciative of the support of his gracious hosts.