The Cyder Feast
1828
Step into a rustic dreamscape where the harvest is in full swing! Edward Calvert, a member of a mystical group called 'The Ancients' (precursors to the Pre-Raphaelites and huge fans of William Blake), created this lively scene in 1828. A couple dances with wild abandon in the foreground near a ladder and spilled apples, while oxen tread fruit in a stone trough to press the cider. The bold, high-contrast lines reveal this as a wood engraving, a technique Calvert mastered to give this pastoral celebration a rich, shadowy intensity that feels almost biblical.
- Technique
- wood engraving
Views: 2