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| John Atkinson Grimshaw - Reflections on the Thames, 1880 |
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Ogata Gekko - Full Moon and Autumn Flowers by the Stream, 1895
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| Ogata Gekko - Full Moon and Autumn Flowers by the Stream, 1895 |
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi - Mount Miyaji moon - Moronaga, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon, 1889.
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| Tsukioka Yoshitoshi - Mount Miyaji moon - Moronaga, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon, 1889. |
Fujiwara Moronaga was a statesman known for his musical skills. During the turbulent political climate of the 13th century, he was banished from the capital on two occasions: once to the island of Shikoku and once to Owari. Fortunately, his poetic sensibilities enabled him to enjoy views of the moon from such rustic spots. In this print, he plays his biwa, or lute, as the moon peeks under the auburn foliage. An anonymous woman listens to Moronaga’s song. Completely absorbed in his playing, he is unaware of his audience. While the woman’s robes rustle in the breeze, his inner tranquility is reflected in the stillness of the moment. Yet, his unkempt hair reminds the viewer of his exile. Via
Katsushika Hokusai - Bridge and the Moon, 1910s-30s
A Meiji-era reproduction in miniature of an Edo-era print by Hokusai entitled "Moon Underneath the Bridge", this composition captures a bridge high above the water, connecting two cliffs with ships down below, and a moon hanging high in the evening sky. Via
Sebastian Pether (1790-1844) - Moonlit Lake with a Ruined Gothic Church, a Church and Boatmen
_-_Moonlit_Lake_with_a_Ruined_Gothic_Church,_a_Church_and_Boatmen_-_515484_-_National_Trust.jpg) |
| Sebastian Pether (1790-1844) - Moonlit Lake with a Ruined Gothic Church, a Church and Boatmen |
A huge ruined gothic church stands on the banks of a lake at the right, below which a fisherman is preparing his boat; further along the river is another rowing boat with three figures; on the far shore, a church tower and steeple. Via
John Quidor - The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane, 1858
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| John Quidor - The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane, 1858 |
The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane (1858) is a painting by American artist John Quidor, depicting a scene from Washington Irving's 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The schoolmaster Ichabod Crane is fleeing on a white horse, pursued by the Headless Horseman on a black horse. In one hand, the Headless Horseman is holding a pumpkin, which he is preparing to throw at Crane. Visible in the background is the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow and the adjacent Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, and the full moon. Via
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Charles Warren Eaton - Moon over the Forest, circa 1895
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| Charles Warren Eaton - Moon over the Forest, circa 1895 oil on board, 34.3 × 40 cm (13.5 × 15.7 in) Birmingham Museum of Art |
Edvard Munch - Moonlight, 1895
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| Edvard Munch - Moonlight, 1895 |
This painting shows one of Munch’s most simplified depictions of the Norwegian coastal landscape in the light of a summer night. Thematically it is related to The Voice, which Munch had painted earlier, in that case with a female figure in the central foreground. Moonlight captures a mood of nature, without human presence. The first thing to catch our attention is the unusual pillar of moonlight, a motif that occurs in several of Munch’s pictures. The next is the undulating coastline, which forms a horizontal counterpoint to the strict verticality of the trees. The colours are subdued, but there are clear contrasts between the dark forest floor, the white shore and the intense blue of the water. Details are simplified and subordinated to the overall scheme, but without compromising the landscape’s characteristic features and recognisability.
Instead of depicting an action, the picture expresses a certain mood. At the same time there is a formal theme in the pillar of moonlight, the strict verticality of the trees, the gentle curves of the shoreline, and the water as a symbol of the masculine and the feminine. The motif probably derived from the area around Åsgårdstrand, where Munch stayed this summer. It was a place to which he was very attached. The sea and the landscape both attracted and inspired him, and elements of nature in the region appear in a range of pictures from the 1890s. Via
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi - A Buddhist monk receives cassia seeds on a moonlit night, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon, 1891
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| Tsukioka Yoshitoshi - A Buddhist monk receives cassia seeds on a moonlit night, from the series One hundred aspects of the moon, 1891 |
This figure of an 'arhat' ('luohan' in Chinese; 'rakan' in Japanese), a Buddhist who has achieved enlightenment, is catching cassia seeds in his begging bowl as they fall from the moon, which, if eaten, provide immortality. The story of the magical cassia ('katsura') trees on the moon are from Chinese and Japanese legend (see 258.2012.26 'Cassia-tree moon'). This 'arhat' has a brilliant moon as his halo, long ears that signify his wisdom, and numerous characteristics that imply cross-cultural inspirations, such as his Chinese robe decorated with dragon medallions and lotus flowers, and his Indian sandals. He has features that may make him Indian, for example his beard, and this is perhaps an allusion to Daruma (Bodhidharma), who travelled from India to China to teach Buddhism. Via
John Atkinson Grimshaw - A wet road by moonlight, Wharfedale
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| John Atkinson Grimshaw - A wet road by moonlight, Wharfedale |
Wharfedale provided early inspiration for Grimshaw and he returned to the area on a number of occasions working in oil and watercolour. These works provide evidence of Grimshaw's enthusiasm for the natural world as well as his consummate ability to convey it. Grimshaw began to paint and develop moonlit scenes from the late 1860s; the present work shows that by 1872 he was master of the subject. As in many of his works we witness a scene following a heavy downpour; the surface water reflects the moon producing light sources throughout the composition. This not only illuminates perspective but imbues the work with an atmospheric harmony.
The lone figure carries a pail suggesting a sense of toil and hardship yet they pause from their labour for a moment, drinking in the magnificent landscape as the moonlight catches the river on the floodplain below. The valley is portrayed with a skillful economy as the line between horizon and sky is left blended and undefined. This contrasts to the foreground which is rendered with meticulous detail; the ruts and branches brilliantly silhouetted against the night sky are akin to the Pre-Raphaelite ideals of landscape painting. The leafless trees suggest it is Autumn which along with the labourer produces a strong feeling of the rural and agricultural cycle rooted in the pastoral tradition. Via
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