Appleton Thorn 1880

Curator: The visual field is immediately dominated by this central arboreal form, adorned in such a striking way. Editor: Indeed. This is Robert Bateman’s “Appleton Thorn,” painted around 1880, an oil painting that uses mixed media to depict much more than what it first reveals. This seems a nostalgic rendering, one embedded within local history. Curator: One is struck by its somewhat naive and even fantastical composition; the artist isn’t particularly concerned with perspectival correctness. But rather, I am drawn to the very deliberate arrangement. The stark background texture brings forward the pageantry of the scene. It makes the symbolic elements much more visible, wouldn’t you say? Editor: Absolutely. If we consider the central Thorn tree, heavily ornamented, the inscription “God Save the Queen,” the surrounding celebratory figures, all tell a story deeply rooted in societal and cultural allegiances. Curator: It does appear to be less a study of landscape and more a declaration of community values and loyalties during that era. Look at the balance, the strategic placement of the shields, flags, and of course, the somewhat caricatured figures of a woman and a musician. It's almost as if they are staging a performance beneath this national symbol. Editor: The work appears to almost directly narrate a historic ritual celebrating both continuity and fealty within a localised English village life. The garlands might act to visually suggest traditional social unity, but are, conversely, obscuring a complex historical tapestry of power. The placement of text at the foot of the picture space reinforces this archival imperative; it seems history is what really occupies the space in front of the ‘Appleton Thorn’ itself. Curator: Fascinating to consider this historical ‘snapshot’ as more than just a visual rendering but a profound statement about British social identity and tradition in the 19th century, its own way, performing a sort of social preservation. Editor: An intriguing visual and textual exercise which reminds us to inspect the intersection of history, art and the politics that reside beneath.