The Harvest Moon thumbnail 1
Not on display

The Harvest Moon

Oil Painting
1855 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Linnell, John (II) (artist)
Place of origin
England (painted)

Oil painting

Object details

Category
Paintings
Object type
Oil painting
TitleThe Harvest Moon
Materials and techniques
Oil on canvas
Oil Paint
Canvas
Oil Painting
Brief description
Oil painting, 'The Harvest Moon', John Linnell, 1855
Physical description
Oil painting
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 66cm
  • Estimate width: 99cm
  • Framed height: 100cm
  • Framed width: 132cm
  • Framed depth: 9cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990
Style
British School
Marks and inscriptions
'J Linnell f 1855' (Signed and dated by the artist, bottom right of centre)
Gallery label
(2002)
48. John Linnell (1792-1882)
The Harvest Moon 1855
Oil on canvas, 66 x 99 cm (26 x 39 ins)

The importance of the harvest was formerly apparent to everyone, as a scanty harvest could cause near-starvation and unrest. A good harvest was consequently a symbol of peace and plenty. Linnell, associated with both William Blake and Samuel Palmer (his son-in-law), excelled in the depiction of this part of the agricultural year. He here adds a new dimension to the conventional image of the harvest. Linnell invests his scene at the end of a late summer's day, the sun and the moon in the sky together, with a spiritual, even mystical, fervour. The fecundity of the crop (there are fields and harvesters as far as the eye can see) is emphasised by the families in the foreground - men, women and children - slowly making their way home.

Given by John Jones, 1882 (554-1882)
Credit line
Bequeathed by John Jones
Object history
Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882
Subjects depicted
Agriculture
Landscape
Bibliographic references
  • Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990, pp. 178-79
  • Evans, Mark et al. Vikutoria & Arubāto Bijutsukan-zō : eikoku romanshugi kaigaten = The Romantic tradition in British painting, 1800-1950 : masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Japan : Brain Trust, 2002
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
554-1882

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15114/the-harvest-moon-oil-painting-linnell-john-ii/
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