WILDLIFE painting fills an important space in the human heart. Unlike other genres that are often regarded as superior, it has no overt message; not religious or revolutionary, political or patriotic, not angst-ridden, fashionable or sophisticated.
However, it speaks to strong instincts— atavism and love of natural beauty. Animals have long been favoured subjects for artists, but were often inaccurately portrayed. Thoroughbreds galloped with legs extended like rocking-horses, birds were not airworthy. Audubon (1785–1851) produced popular, but unnatural pictures of dead birds (posed on wire), coloured by assistants. Edward Lear (1812–88) was the first major wildlife artist to draw birds from life. His contemporary Joseph Wolf (1820–99), whom Landseer (1802–73) called ‘the best all round animal artist who ever lived’, arrived in London in 1848 and became a favoured illustrator with Livingstone and Darwin. He would greatly influence his successor, arguably the finest wildlife artist of all: Archibald Thorburn.
Born in 1860, Thorburn was the fifth son of Robert, a Scottish painter of miniatures for Queen Victoria (until 1853, after which time he ceased this work). As a child, Thorburn explored the countryside around his home at Lasswade, near Edinburgh, drawing and painting wildlife and flowers. His father encouraged and taught him, placing great emphasis upon accuracy, sometimes tearing up laboriously prepared work. By the age of 12, he was skilful with watercolour, pen and ink.
Denne historien er fra April 17, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 17, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds