A touch of Spring life captured on canvas - Dated 1864
Sometimes you come across a beautiful painting of nature at is best and very realistically captured. It is even more special when you when you find two identical size oil on canvas's, with a theme, painted by the same hand and dated to 1884. What are the odd's?
The first painting of apple blossom has obviously been captured at the start of spring. The second painting of apples on a branch would have been commissioned at the end of summer beginning of the autumn harvest. So there is no account of the process or why they have been done, what a shame!
However, my imagination has an image. Picture this, maybe the owner of the paintings has a personal orchard at home, or maybe he is a fruit grower and always wanted to capture his crop for eternity, certainly plausible. There is a story in here somewhere!
I can almost definitely say they are done by the same hand. The similarity is compelling, the style adds more confirmation, the writing on the back is by the same hand and the frames are all but identical. So as they are both signed on the back and dated 1864 the odds they are not by the same hand, must be minuscule.
Just look at the the branches, bark, leaves and the way the artist has picked up the detail of the blossom is just delightful. Again this is from the Victorian school of art and cannot understand why they didn't want to sign their work in full, rather than just initial.
Ready for harvest, time to pick the apples. Well this is beautifully executed, the detail is so good, you could almost reach in pick one of the table. The artist only initialed the painting MCM and dated it 1886. Although dated 1886, when you examine the back it is dated 1884 and there is another name (possibly) M C Iveringham (see photo). The lettering is difficult to decipher.
The only uncertainty at this point is, if this is the artist or clients name who commissioned the painting.
Another nice piece of information is the canvas is stamped Winsor & Newton, Rathbone Place, London, W. They moved to, and established there partnership in 1836 premise at Rathbone Place, so ties in nicely with the dates above of 1884-1886, as they didn't move from Rathbone place to Harrow until 1936-1937.
Which ever way you look at these paintings, they are both wonderfully created, and the artist clearly knew his or her craft.
Both framed in a giltwood frame with a wooden stretcher frame behind. A few minor losses to one frame over the other, but not too horrendous considering they have been around for 139 years.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I do writing about them.
