The Coming of Spring, 1899, by E A Hornel (1864-1933), oil on canvas.
This painting was originally known as The Fair Maids of February and was purchased by Glasgow Corporation in 1900 for £400. It illustrates the way in which Hornel's style was changing in the late 1890s: the emphasis has moved away from pattern, texture and colour (particularly the hot reds of the earlier years) and instead there is an emphasis on line and form, the colours are "cooler" and features such as the girls' faces are carefully drawn. Hornel's popularity as an artist increased dramatically with these developments.
One of the groups of artists known as the Glasgow Boys, Hornel studied art in Edinburgh from 1880-1883 and then attended the Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp. Upon his return to Scotland in 1885 he joined the Glasgow Art Club and became a friend of George Henry (1858-1943), with whom he later collaborated. Although he occasionally rented a studio in Glasgow, Hornel spent most of his working life in his home town of Kirkcudbright.
Reference: 909
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
artists, children, fashions, flowers, girls, Glasgow Art Club, Glasgow Boys, Glasgow Corporation, Glasgow School, oil paintings, pinafores, play, snowdrops, spring, The Coming of Spring, The Fair Maids of February, trees, woods
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