PRINTS
Haden, Sir Francis Seymour
England (1818 - 1910)
The Two Sheep
1870
Etching on laid paper
5 7/8 x 9 3/8 in. (14.9 x 23.8 cm) sheet size; 4 1/2 x 5 15/16 in. (11.5 x 15.2 cm) plate mark size
Stimson Collection, gift of Dorothy Stimson Bullitt
FA 77.106

Pastoral Scenes. As advisor to the Department of Science and Art, Haden followed the German scientist Hermann Ludwig von Helmholtz and his theories. Published in Physiological Optics, these theories demonstrated the impossibility of the eye to focus simultaneously on near and distant objects. In The Two Sheep the foreground sheep and clumps of foliage are void of detail. The focus of the composition centers on the densely packed line of the grove to the left. By contrasting areas of articulation and allusion, Haden created an impression of nature as the eye would perceive it. -- Label copy for The Landscapes of Sir Francis Seymour Haden, Reed Gallery, April 6, 1991 to September 6, 1991.