Dimensions: image: 162 x 121 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This is "Spring Days," an engraving by the Brothers Dalziel after a work by Frederick Walker. Editor: It’s incredibly dense, almost claustrophobic. The heavy blacks give it a somber, rather than springtime, feel. Curator: Walker, who died quite young, was associated with the aesthetic movement and the revival of wood engraving. This was for a popular magazine, and the Dalziels were master engravers. Editor: But the dark tones…are we meant to see these young women as burdened, perhaps by societal expectations? The girl in the foreground seems almost trapped by the thicket. Curator: It's interesting you read it that way. I've always seen the density as reflecting the abundance of nature in spring. The image was meant for mass consumption, so the themes would not have been radical. Editor: Perhaps, but even popular art can subtly reflect the constraints placed upon women's lives at the time. It is good to consider the politics of imagery in a piece like this. Curator: Well, it certainly offers a lot to consider, even beyond its historical context. Editor: Indeed. I am left thinking about how artists use nature to reflect social conditions.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/walker-spring-days-engraved-by-the-brothers-dalziel-n04026
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This is one of six illustrations Frederick Walker produced for one of the most popular Idyllic books, A Round of Days. The Dalziel brothers described this book of poems as a compendium of ‘every-day scenes, occurrences and incidents’. The publication was an enormous success and the Dalziels republished and later reissued sections of the book in Pictures Posies 1874 and English Rustic Pictures 1882. This illustration, after a poem by Dora Greenwell, shows the hallmarks of Pre-Raphaelitism in the naturalistic details and dense composition. Gallery label, July 2008