Here’s a plein-air oil painting called “The Black Garden” (Edit Back Garden) by Adolph Menzel (German 1815-1905). It’s about 35x45 inches.
A careful study like this would probably be done over two or three sessions. Overcast conditions are a big help for such extended outdoor work because the subject changes less from hour to hour.
6 comments:
Dumb question: Why is that called "the Black Garden"? Maybe it belonged to a family named Black? Or is it some arcane German artistic reference I'm ignorant of?
I wondered the same thing Terry!
Isn't this wonderful? Perhaps it is a sorcerer's garden, full of mysterious plants. It certainly is having an enchanting effect on me...makes me want to explore the plantings.
'Black garden' is a typo. The German title is "Der Hintergarten" which means "The Back Garden".
A wonderful painting. I would love to sit in this garden and just look at the leaves and think about Life, the Universe and Everything - and at some point probably also what delicious food to make from some of those plants.
CGB, thanks for that correction. It makes more sense. I kind of wondered about "black garden,"
....but I love Roderica's idea of a sorcerer's garden, with snails and spiders crawling around on nightshades and mushrooms, getting fat and juicy before they get dropped by bony fingers into the cauldron.... Fun idea for a painting.
Yeah, Christopher, and also think about how to mix that wonderful green :) !
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