October in Sunny Brisbane always means Jacaranda Time.
Our city is draped in thousands beautiful purple blooming trees.
I popped into the Qld Art Gallery to revisit the painting
Under the Jacaranda, 1903, by Godfrey Rivers.
It is a quintessential Brisbane image, yet the jacaranda is not a native tree.
This painting features our very first jacaranda which arrived in 1864 and was planted in the City Botanic Gardens near the kiosk. It was imported from Brazil and stood for over 100 years before it was blown down in 1979. By 1875, they had given away 50,000 seeds, and the result is the mass of blooms we see ever October - this is the mother of all those beautiful trees.
The two people in the painting are the artist, Godfrey Rivers, and his wife Selena.
He came to Brisbane in 1890 and taught at Brisbane High School and Brisbane Girls Grammar School.
Through his efforts the Qld National Art Gallery opened with him as its first curator.
This pretty impressionist-style painting makes great use of the new chemical colour mauve, which had recently become available. The red umbrella is key to the colour palette here - it intensifies the jacaranda blooms and makes them the star of the painting.
During jacaranda season, people smuggle in a few blooms and scatter them on the floor in front of the painting. Isn't that a sweet touch?
I love the purple carpets which emerge under these gorgeous trees.
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| Source: Australian Traveller |
During my weekly decluttering efforts,
I unearthed this orange glass vase the other day,
hiding in a dim corner of the nest.
I thought I'd thrown it out years ago, so greeted it with the enthusiasm of
a newly liberated orange fancier! Orange is Back!!
I treated the vase to some orange gerberas as a back-in-vogue gift:
It only takes a bit of rain, and look what appeared in the garden today:
Heavenly perfume - you could just eat it!
Princess Charlene is looking a little happier with Albert these days.
Doesn't she have a killer wardrobe?
Have a good weekend - we are off to Vinnie's with a mega load to donate tomorrow.
Once upon a time I owned a print of this beautiful painting but alas it was only a cheap copy and faded due to sunlight. Jacarandas are so pretty and I love the mauve blanket they create.
ReplyDeleteFabulous find with the orange vase and glad to hear it's not destined for Vinnie's Patricia!
If pictures speak a thousand words I think Charlene and Albert look happier too.
xx