DOI issue:
No. 296 (November 1917)
DOI article:Thomson, David Croal: Matthew Maris
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21264#0067
Matthew Maris
"THE GIRL WITH THE GOATS”
BY MATTHEW MARIS
to ripen. All the pictures we reproduce are,
however, now fully matured. He is coming
was painted in 1874, over forty years ago ;
The Girl at the Well a little earlier, in 1872 ;
The Young Cook in 1871, and The Girl with the
Goats somewhat later, in 1875.
He is coming has hitherto only been known
by Mr. William Hole’s splendid etchings, and
it is by a special privilege that it is now repro-
duced in colour. In this small picture—the
original canvas measures only 17 by 13 inches—
the young Princess—seated at the spinning-
wheel, and in her hand the distaff—hears the
rustle of the Prince’s presence. Her heart leaps
within her as the handsome prince of her
dreams gaily approaches with his cross-bow,
and her thoughts, while still “ where maiden-
hood and childhood meet,” reveal in her face
the realization of all her happiness.
Such is the Maiden of the Past. The Girl of
the Present as well as the Future is more surely
realized in The Young Cook, a subject the artist
painted at least twice, one of the versions being
in the Mesdag collection at The Hague, and
the other, the one we reproduce, in a celebrated
Scottish collection. This small canvas, a rich
harmony in brown, is one of the most subtly
beautiful of the master’s works.
The large painting which has always been
called by the inadequate and prosaic title of
The Girl with the Goats, although it has not been
published before, is fairly well known because it
has been in several exhibitions in different parts
of the country. It has recently changed hands,
but remains in the West of Scotland, where so
much that is finest in painting finds a permanent
home. The little Princess, again with a distaff,
might very well be the heroine of a beautiful
legend wherein she has changed her admirers
into goats, who, even m their altered state, re-
main her devoted attendants. It has also been
suggested that this composition is a realization
of Maeterlinck’s idea of Youth enveloped and
directed by a mysterious Destiny. The artist
himself would never say what his ideas were
in this painting, so that every one is free to
make a choice in accordance with the impression
the picture makes.
D. Croal Thomson.
*** An Exhibition of the Works of Matthew
Maris is being held at the French Gallery, Pall
Mall, during November and December. Over fifty
pictures and drawings are shown, most of which
have not been exhibited before, including several
unfinished works from the artist’s studio.
51
"THE GIRL WITH THE GOATS”
BY MATTHEW MARIS
to ripen. All the pictures we reproduce are,
however, now fully matured. He is coming
was painted in 1874, over forty years ago ;
The Girl at the Well a little earlier, in 1872 ;
The Young Cook in 1871, and The Girl with the
Goats somewhat later, in 1875.
He is coming has hitherto only been known
by Mr. William Hole’s splendid etchings, and
it is by a special privilege that it is now repro-
duced in colour. In this small picture—the
original canvas measures only 17 by 13 inches—
the young Princess—seated at the spinning-
wheel, and in her hand the distaff—hears the
rustle of the Prince’s presence. Her heart leaps
within her as the handsome prince of her
dreams gaily approaches with his cross-bow,
and her thoughts, while still “ where maiden-
hood and childhood meet,” reveal in her face
the realization of all her happiness.
Such is the Maiden of the Past. The Girl of
the Present as well as the Future is more surely
realized in The Young Cook, a subject the artist
painted at least twice, one of the versions being
in the Mesdag collection at The Hague, and
the other, the one we reproduce, in a celebrated
Scottish collection. This small canvas, a rich
harmony in brown, is one of the most subtly
beautiful of the master’s works.
The large painting which has always been
called by the inadequate and prosaic title of
The Girl with the Goats, although it has not been
published before, is fairly well known because it
has been in several exhibitions in different parts
of the country. It has recently changed hands,
but remains in the West of Scotland, where so
much that is finest in painting finds a permanent
home. The little Princess, again with a distaff,
might very well be the heroine of a beautiful
legend wherein she has changed her admirers
into goats, who, even m their altered state, re-
main her devoted attendants. It has also been
suggested that this composition is a realization
of Maeterlinck’s idea of Youth enveloped and
directed by a mysterious Destiny. The artist
himself would never say what his ideas were
in this painting, so that every one is free to
make a choice in accordance with the impression
the picture makes.
D. Croal Thomson.
*** An Exhibition of the Works of Matthew
Maris is being held at the French Gallery, Pall
Mall, during November and December. Over fifty
pictures and drawings are shown, most of which
have not been exhibited before, including several
unfinished works from the artist’s studio.
51