Edward Hornel
Spring Blossom was painted in the Scottish fishing village Kirkcudbright at the height of Hornel’s career and fame, the same year as the stunning Music of the Woods now owned by the National Gallery of Scotland. Two little girls sit amongst an abundance of spring flowers, primroses and apple blossom and through his thickly applied paint, Hornel creates a wonderful rich texture that catches the light.
Set on the edge of the Galloway hills, and on the estuary of the River Dee, Kirkcudbright was a haven for artists offering the same sort of pure light that drew artists to Newlyn in Cornwall and Britany in France. In the autumn of 1885, Hornel’s friend George Henry introduced him to ‘Glasgow Boy’ James Guthrie who was also living in the village, a meeting which profoundly influenced his art . Hornel was inspired by Guthrie’s distinctive square brush strokes in the manner of the French Realist Bastien-Lepage and he began to combine this with rich colour and dense pattern. He was also influenced by the French painter Monticelli, whose mosaic like paintings he encountered in the International Exhibitions of 1886 and 1888 in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The subject of Hornel’s pictures began to become secondary to the abstract arrangement of the colours and forms and take they took on a flatness similar to Japanese prints.
In February 1893 he set off for Japan with George Henry, financially supported by galleries owner Alexander Reid and philanthropist William Burrell where he stayed for over a year. An exhibition of his Japanese works held in Glasgow on his return was a great success and he bought a stunning 18th century townhouse in Kirkcudbright for £400 with the sale of just one painting. He bequeathed his house and studio to the town, and it is now the Hornel Museum managed by the National Trust, with a fascinating Japanese Garden.
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