Arcadópolis
A Ti-Tree Glade
Frederick McCubbin, 1897
What you see
A dirt path enters from the bottom edge and disappears among the trees. On both sides, slender trunks and branches arch over to form a frame that reveals a sunlit meadow beyond. A few cows graze there, and a small figure in a hat walks beside them. Farther off, a yellow band and a line of trees mark the horizon.
The foreground lies in shade, in browns, muted greens and greys, while the meadow glows in light greens and yellows under a whitish sky. The dry leaves on the path are painted with loose touches. Spot the bluish leaves of the plant on the right and the signature in the lower left corner.
About Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin was born in Melbourne, where his parents ran a bakery, and taught drawing at the National Gallery of Victoria’s art school from 1886 until his death; his friends called him “the Proff” for his love of reading and philosophising. In 1885 he founded the Box Hill artists’ camp with Tom Roberts and Louis Abrahams, the seed of the Heidelberg School, and painted large scenes of life in the Australian bush, using his own family as models. Paintings such as “The Pioneer” and “Down on His Luck” became Australian icons, and many critics consider the works he made after a trip to Europe in 1907 the finest of his career.
More by Frederick McCubbin
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