Spring Time, by Philip Hermogones Calderon (1833-1898). Exhibited 1896. Painting: Oil on canvas. 60 x 40 inches (152.4 x 101.6 cm). Private collection. Engraving: Source: 1897-98 Magazine of Art, p. 451, scanned and captioned by George P. Landow. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Commentary by Dennis T. Lanigan
This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1896, no. 263, and in the catalogue was the quotation "For, lo, the winter is past, etc." The quotation is taken from the Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verse 11. This is another example of Calderon's being influenced by the Aesthetic Movement, It shows a dark haired, classically draped maiden in a white diaphanous gown sitting against a tree in a verdant forest.
F. G. Stephens in The Athenaeum praised it: "Mr. Calderon's Spring Time (263), a damsel in white, leaning against a beech tree, is much to be admired" (587). A critic for The Magazine of Art commented: "Mr. P. H Calderon illustrates his idea of Spring-time in a pretty maiden, bare-footed and bare-armed, seated in a landscape, her graceful form swathed in semi-transparent drapery which veils whilst it does not wholly conceal outline" (355).
The engraving may be reproduced without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and the University of Toronto Library and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.)
Bibliography
"The Royal Academy – III." The Magazine of Art XIX (1896): 355-58.
Stephens, Frederic George. "Fine Arts. The Royal Academy." The Athenaeum No. 3575 (May 2, 1896): 586-91.
Storey, G. A., A. R. A. "Philip Hermogenes Calderon, A. R. A. (1833-98)." Magazine of Art. 22 (November 1897-October 1898): 446-52. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 28 October 2014. [Complete text in the Victorian Web.]
Created 28 October 2014
Last modified 18 July 2023