Oak Tree and Beech, Lullingstone Park, Samuel Palmer
Pen and brown ink, with gouache an watercolor on toned paper, roughly 12 x 18 inches (30 x 47 cm); in the collection of the Morgan Library and Museum, NY. Use the “Zoom Image” or “Download Image” links on their page to view larger.
I love the way that Palmer has used a variety of seemingly casual but wonderfully effective marks — squiggles, dots, dashes, calligraphic strokes, blotches, hatching and stipple — to define his textures.
The Morgan’s website indicates that the handling of the background is also quite interesting. The light through the distant trees is indicated with yellow watercolor, painted over an area defined with white qouache and then coated with gum arabic, which would impart a sheen to that area. I assume that this effect would be more noticeable in person, and might resemble the effect of spot varnish as used in modern commercial printing.
Related posts:
Samuel Palmer (Lines and Colors search)
Accidentally I was able to retrieve an older article (a review 2011) in the Guardian by Kathryn Hughes on Palmer.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jul/15/samuel-palmer-rachel-campbell-johnston-review
When he worked for the British Museum Palmer was ‘influenced’ by Turner and David Cox.
After he met his longtime friend Linnell he was persuaded to study Dürer, Lucas van der Leyden and Blake.
It looks like Palmer was having a good time hiding weird or humorous faces and figures in his drawing.
Thomas Patrick Keating made a particular speciality out of producing forged water-colours by Samuel Palmer and fine oil paintings by Dutch, Flemish, English and French old masters. The infamous yet loveable British rogue was a remarkable forger who certainly showed up all the experts in a forgery career which landed him in jail charged for conspiracy to defraud!
Interesting! Thanks, Ælle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fdprm0QcqU
Beginnings of impressionism
https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/14/obituaries/tom-keating-66-a-painter-gained-fame-as-art-forger.html