This large-scale study relates to Bridget Riley’s seminal Cataract series of 1967–68, a group of six paintings that constitute her first sustained and fully resolved use of colour. The Cataract works mark a decisive transition from the black-and-white optical paintings of the early 1960s to a more complex investigation of chromatic perception, and several examples were exhibited at the 1968 Venice Biennale, where Riley was awarded the International Prize for Painting.
Executed in gouache and graphite, 'Scale Study for Cataract' exemplifies Riley’s systematic working method at this pivotal moment. Vertical bands of colour, principally turquoise, red, grey-lilac, and off-white,expand, contract, and curve laterally across the composition, producing a carefully calibrated sensation of optical movement and visual instability. The underlying graphite structure reveals the artist’s precise control of interval, rhythm, and proportion, while the matte surface of the gouache eliminates reflectivity, allowing colour interaction to operate with maximum clarity.
The present work is exceptional for its scale, measuring 78.7 × 61.7 cm, substantially larger than the majority of known Cataract studies, which are typically small and intimate in format. Its size suggests that it functioned not merely as a colour note but as an advanced preparatory work, testing the optical behaviour of the composition at dimensions approaching those of the finished canvases. As such, it occupies an important position between exploratory study and resolved painting.
Stylistically and chromatically, the study relates most closely to the central works of the series, particularly Cataract 3 (1967, British Council), sharing its balanced yet dynamic distribution of optical tension and its controlled use of colour contrast.
Only three studies connected with the Cataract series were exhibited in the 1971 Arts Council exhibition, underscoring the rarity of surviving works from this developmental phase. The present study therefore constitutes a significant document of Riley’s transition into colour and provides valuable insight into the analytical processes underpinning one of the most important bodies of work in post-war British painting.