John William Inchbold - In Early Spring

1855

oil on canvas

Ashmolean

A painting inspired by Wordsworth's poetry. This is believed to be a painting Inchbold exhibited at the RA in 1855 under the title A Study in March. It was accompanied by a line from Wordsworth, 'When the primrose flower peeped forth to give an earnest of the spring'.

Oil on canvas 53 x 35 cm Inscribed: JWI

Exhibited in 1855 with lines from the first book of Wordsworth's The Excursion:

'When the primrose flower
Peeped forth to give an earnest of the Spring.'

It has been pointed out that the concentration on the detail of the foreground distinguishes Pre-Raphaelite landscapes from the older, pastoral tradition in which the foreground is generally sacrificed to the middle distance. Despite the danger of spoiling the unity of the composition by working piece-meal on the details. lnchbold achieves an astonishing balance of detail and atmosphere, unified through the delicacy of touch and the natural luminosity of the colour, thinly laid onto a white ground in the manner of the Brotherhood. Ruskin. whose influence is evident throughout the composition. described the effect as 'exceedingly beautiful'.