When Apples were Golden and Songs were Sweet but Summer had Passed Away

John Melhuish Strudwick 1849 - 1937

Summary

Melancholy autumnal scene of two women in a garden. The women have long flowing hair and pleated medieval robes. To the left a young woman, dressed in a turquoise dress laced over a white smock with a red sash around her middle and a brown cloak draped round her, stands dreamily playing a lute. She gazes off to the right. Her companion, to the right, is dressed in white, with a blue-brown sash wrapped around her middle and shoulders. She looks down at an illuminated manuscript which rests on her lap, on which there is both text and medieval musical notation. Both young women wear thonged sandals that leave their toes bare. A detailed carpet of green grass and small leafy plants lies beneath their feet with a background of fruiting apple trees. A suggestion of water is behind the trees. The gilt frame has a bulbous shell-like moulded decoration all around.