in de Marianne North Gallery Kew Gardens, Londen
Net als bij de lange reeks aquarellen die Carl Ferdinand von Kügelgen (1772-1832) in opdracht van de Russische tsaar maakte, kan ik voor het werk van Marianne North niets anders dan mateloze bewondering hebben. Voornamelijk voor haar discipline. Marianne North schilderde 13 jaar lang gemiddeld 64 uiterst gedetailleerde en arbeidsintensieve schilderijen per jaar. En dat allemaal keurig in een consistente stijl. Net zoals Von Kügelgen. De opdrachtgever wist zo precies wat-ie kreeg. Vanuit artistiek oogpunt kun je dergelijke titanenarbeid schamperig wegzetten als ‘meer van hetzelfde’ of ‘dertien in een dozijn’. Maar ik kijk soms liever naar 1 kilometer transpiratie dan naar 1 millimeter inspiratie.
in 13 jaar en 832 schilderijen

and Gate of the Daghar Mosque

Kew Gardens Londen

with bank of Tree Ferns
Marianne North was a remarkable Victorian artist who travelled the globe in order to satisfy her passion for recording the world’s flora with her paintbrush. The result of these epic journeys can be seen in the Marianne North Gallery at Kew, where tier upon tier of brightly coloured paintings of flowers, landscapes, animals and birds are arranged. There are 832 paintings, all completed in 13 years of travel round the world.
Bron: kew.org
Marianne North Gallery at Kew Gardens
Marianne North [ plantexplorers.com ]
Marianne North was a remarkable Victorian artist who travelled the globe in order to satisfy her passion for recording the world’s flora with her paintbrush. The result of these epic journeys can be seen in the Marianne North Gallery at Kew, where tier upon tier of brightly coloured paintings of flowers, landscapes, animals and birds are arranged. There are 

Feodor Vasilyev was born in Gatchina to a low-level government official, Alexander Vasilyevich Vasilyev, and Olga Emelyanova Polyntseva on 22 February N.S. 1850. His parents married four years later, so he was always considered an illegitimate child. Feodor had to earn his living from the age of 12 – he worked as a mailman, scribe, and assistant to a restorer of pictures. After his father’s untimely death, he became the sole supporter of the family. In 1863, he managed to enter the evening classes of the School of Painting at the Society for Promotion of Artists (Russian: Школа Поощрения Художеств). While at school, Vasilyev got acquainted with many painters, who took care of him.














