Description:
The Fitzwilliam's outstanding collection of botanical art came to the Museum through the Broughton Bequest in 1973, a generous legacy from Henry Rogers Broughton. Several flower studies by Holland are present in the bequest, all demonstrating his exceptional talent for capturing the colours of nature.
This vibrant bouquet of mixed flowers by British artist James Holland is brought to life in watercolour and bodycolour. James Holland was a 19th Century English painter of flowers, landscapes, architecture, marine subjects, and a book illustrator. He worked in both oils and watercolours and was a member of the Royal Watercolour Society.
Brief description: James Holland was born in Staffordshire, UK, where his grandfather, Thomas Holland, produced pottery. In 1819, he came to London where he continued to work as a pottery painter, but also gave lessons in drawing landscapes, architecture, and marine subjects. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1824 and in 1830 visited France and made studies of its architecture.From the early 1830s onwards Holland undertook extensive tours on the Continent where he made many studies of France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal and Venice. He continued to work in genre and landscape painting, as well as botanical painting, throughout his career. Despite his talent and artistic output, Holland's reputation seems to have faded after his death in 1870. His work is admired today as a bridge between Romanticism and Impressionism and he is finally recognized as an important painter of light and composition.