Dimensions: support: 1816 x 1308 mm frame: 2230 x 1720 x 185 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Ernest Parton's "The Waning of the Year," a beautiful landscape painting held at the Tate. There’s such a stillness to the scene; what strikes you most about it? Curator: I'm interested in how the artist constructs this landscape. Look at the layering of paint, how it mimics the agricultural use of the land. Do you see how materials are manipulated to signify labor and its relationship to nature? Editor: I see what you mean; the textures definitely seem to emphasize a working relationship with the land. It gives a sense of place and purpose. Curator: Exactly. It challenges the romantic ideal of landscape by subtly reminding us of the means of production. Reflecting on that, I think we’ve explored some really interesting perspectives on Parton’s work today. Editor: Definitely, a new appreciation for landscape art and its cultural context!
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parton-the-waning-of-the-year-n01628
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Parton was born in Hudson, New York. He studied briefly with his brother Arthur, before coming to London in 1873. Thereafter, he divided his time between England and France. He specialized in poetical landscape, this picture being the first of many which took the silvery effects of the birch tree as their theme. This and the wistfulness of his subject matter suggests Parton was influenced by the French painter J.B.C. Corot (1796-1875). When this picture was first exhibited at the Royal Academy a critic, writing of its place in English landscape art, noted 'if we go on in this manner we shall, in the international race, overtake France one of these days.' Gallery label, September 2004
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