72/1999

Collection

Paintings, Prints and Drawings

Brief description

Woodland scene with a lily pond, oil on board, by an unknown artist, c.1900-1915, in original stained and polished oak frame.

Title

View of a lily pond in a woodland

Object name

painting
oil painting

Object number

72/1999

Production person

Unknown (artist)

Production date

1900-1915 (painted)

Period

Victorian (1837-1901)
Edwardian (1901-1910)
Twentieth century (1900-1999)

Material

oil paint
board

Technique

painted

Physical description

Oil painting, probably on board, framed in its original frame from which it appears never to have been removed. The frame is formed of a wide oak concave moulding with an integral beading approximately one cm from the inner edge. There is a gold slip between the painting and the original glass. The reverse of the painting has a paper framer's label attached to the backing paper and a faded, only partially legible, pencil inscription. The hanging fixings also appear to be original.

Content description

This oil painting depicts a woodland glade viewed across a lake or pond with water lilies on it. The scene is very impressionistic, showing the water in the foreground stretching fully across the picture, with reflections of trees to either side and a clear reflection of the sky in the centre. Three drifts of water lillies with yellow flowers are shown in the left foreground forming horizontal lines across the picture. In the right foreground is a small island or promontary with a twiggy shrub on it and at the far right hand side an overhanging tree. Beyond the lake, in the middle-ground is a green bank which forms a clearing in a group of trees that close in from right and left and join in the far distance. The sky between is cloudy with blue sky showing through a break in the clouds. The paint is thickly applied in an impasto fashion, and the original varnish has discoloured and become brown in places.