“A Vase of Dahlias” by Albert Moore (1829-96)

[Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Victorian Painting —> Albert Moore —> Paintings by Albert Moore]

A Vase of Dahlias

Albert Joseph Moore, ARWS (1841-1893)

c. 1880

Oil on canvas

25.1 x 16.5 cm (9 7/8 x 6 1/2 in.)

The Silk Room, Leighton House

Robyn Asleson writes, "In oil sketches such as this, Moore allowed himself a spontaneity and freedom that he refined away from more purposeful work" (150). [Click on the image to enlarge it, and see below for commentary. Mouse over the text for links]

Image credit: © Leighton House, RBKC (Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea), reproduced here by kind permission.

Text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee.

Moore included flowers in many of his works, and often used them in his titles: hence, for example, Anemones, White Hydrangeas, and Azaleas. He depended on their beauty for inspiration as much as he depended on his human models: the two complemented each other, both fulfilling his aesthetic ideal. A Vase of Dahlias was painted as a gift for his friend and neighbour, the artist Frederic Leighton, who had supported him when his painting, A Venus, was being criticised by the Royal Academy (see Asleson 105-8). But its narrowness suggests that he might well have worked it up from a study used as background for a larger work like those mentioned above (see the information on the "Art Fund" site). At any rate, Leighton clearly thought well of it, and hung it in his Silk Room gallery among others by well-known artists like Millais and Alma Tadema. The museum itself describes the painting aptly as "small yet arresting." The depth and fullness of the flower-heads and the delicate, subtle tones of the petals are set off by the almost out-of-focus background. It seems impossible to say whether the background is dull or bright, since it has the same infusion of yellow as the flowers, and (it seems) artlessly applied hints of the darker colors of the vase. Notice Moore's usual anthemion "signature" blending into it on the lower left.

Links to Related Material

Bibliography

Asleson, Robyn. Albert Moore. London, 2000.

"Collections highlight: Vase of Dahlias." Leighton House. Web. 6 September 2024.

"A Vase of Dahlias." Art Fund. Web. 6 September 2024

Created 6 September 2024