This painting reminds me a lot of "The Proscribed Royalist" by Millais. It’s that untypical absence of heroism, that concentration on the civil aspects of war, which made them comparable.The "Boer War" is far, far away, as indicated by the green typical English countryside, which is so different from the dusty South African bush. The war is only represented by the lone woman, who is mourning because she lost somebody over there.
I really love this painting. The greens are as wonderful as I've ever seen in any work, and my heart breaks for the woman. Stirring.
ReplyDeleteI first saw this painting in Birmingham Museum. It stirred so many emotions in me from the beauty of the greens to the devestion in the womans eyes. The poetry displayed with it "Last year green things were greener" complimented it perfectly.
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