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WILLIAM FREDERICK WITHERINGTON, R.A. (1785-1865)GATHERING WATERCRESS ON THE BANKS OF THE MOLE, SURREY |
English Romanticism: The words 'caressing watercresses' pottered through my mind, and so I went and looked at the images, and chose the above image to gather my thoughts for there is not much happening really.
Watercress belongs to the south and its chalk clean rivers with brown trout to keep the watercress company on your plate and some burnt butter and almonds of course. It is actually called nasturtium officinale, and of course both types of this plant eaten give a peppery taste and belong to the mustard family. I suppose the warning must go with it, do not pick in the wild where there are cattle because it has the unfortunate habit of having liver flukes growing on it.
I have moved away from the caressing watercresses, and perhaps the boy in the painting should be nearer the river for that is where the watercress grows on the shallow banks.
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| Mary Dawson Elwell 1874-1952 The Landing in Summer |
Almost a photographic image and attention to detail, I belong to a F/B group about women artists and I am always surprised at how remarkably good they are. In this it is the straight lines of rugs and pictures on the wall that capture the imagination, she had the good fortune to be wealthy and definitely had a 'room of her own'. Mary Dawson Elwell ..... and then the photo that raised just a little smile ;) It came with the following words, attributed to Einstein but there is some doubt about that. It is so easy to mock sadly.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits
Coffee to be made and bread to go in the oven.
I love those Romantic images Thelma. 'A picture is worth a thousand words' is definitely true of that last picture!
ReplyDeleteThey also bring a measure of calm into life as well Pat.
DeleteThis brought back fond memories of gathering watercress with my Grandma and Grandpa along the bank of the cold, clear creek that was across the road from their house. I loved the way it tasted,but I was very young, and can't remember what dressing Grandma used on it.
ReplyDeleteI thought the children in the painting were a bit too far from the water to be picking cress, too, but as I looked closer, the grass has a long dark shadow in the area where they are gathering cress, maybe that shadowy effect was meant to represent where a spring branch,very small creek, or spring was coming out of the ground.
Whoa! Liver flukes brought me up short. I guess here at 60 years later, I probably didn't get any liver flukes. But it did make me try to recall just how far away Grandma and Grandpa's fenced cow pasture and watering ponds were from the creek. As I think about it now, the pastures and ponds were pretty far and down stream from where the cress grew.
It has a lovely bite to it crisp as well. You are probably right about the dark shadow in the grass, the painter would have known where cress was to be found as well. Liver flukes sound horrible, so I think not many people got them.
DeleteAlso forgot, to thank you for that memory as well.
DeleteThat second painting! I want to sit quietly on one of those chairs all day and read, or look at the pictures, or perhaps just do nothing and go to sleep like the dog.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't having liver flukes make you turn orange?
It is very tranquil with the sun shining on the wooden floor and the dog asleep at the top of the stairs. As for going orange I would not have the faintest idea what colour you would turn!
DeleteWhat I love about that second painting is the way the light is captured on everything.
ReplyDeleteShe was technically brilliant Sue.
ReplyDelete