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The earliest works painted in Nottingham, Canada, Paris and London can be found in Paintings 1 and 2
The second phase (1952-1955), can be seen in Paintings 3 and 4. Mann’s ‘solid shadow’ phase came about when he was rehoused in a flat with virtually no daylight. It forced him to paint in artificial light, which in turn led him to explore shadow formations like no artist had done before.
The final phase (late ‘50s until his death on January 7, 1980) can be seen in paintings 5 and 6. Freed from his financial worries, enjoying improved health and married to his second wife, Renske, these paintings more than ever explore the dynamic effects of sunlight and shadow, but on a larger scale.
All three phases are interconnected, in the same way that “The Potato Eaters”, Van Gogh’s early masterpiece, is unmistakably the work of the same artist who painted “Sunflowers”.
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