Leyden.

Sir Muirhead Bone (1876-1953) was a Scottish artist known for his piquant drypoint etchings, draughtsmanship and watercolours. Bone originally trained as an architect at the Glasgow School of Art. After initially taking night classes, he turned to printmaking in 1898. Self-taught, his early works likely took the style of those he studied, chiefly Charles Meryon and James Whistler. In 1901 Bone moved to London, quickly gaining a reputation, moving in the same circles as art collector Campbell Dodgson and D.Y. Cameron, a contemporary of Bone in etching and a fellow Scotsman. In 1916, Bone successfully campaigned for the role of the first official British War Artist, filling the position in both World War One and World War Two. Between the World Wars, Bone continued to build up a considerable reputation, exhibiting frequently in both London and New York. A mentor of many young artists, he served as a trustee of the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery and Imperial War Museum. He was knighted in 1937.

Bone's watercolours and lustrous drawings are evidence of his incredible skill in depicting often grim wartime landscapes and human activity. However, it is in his drypoints that we can see his true mastery over architectural detail. His strengths are in rendering line and balance to create dynamic cityscapes, concerned primarily with the existence of buildings in all their states, including the comings and goings of their construction. Bone's architectural training is a fetchingly persistent ‘backbone’ in these works.

Leiden is a historic city in the Netherlands, 'Leyden' being the archaic Dutch spelling of the name. Bone's print is a delightfully congenial depiction of the locale, focussing on the Oude Vest canal, with the dome of Marekerk – a Protestant church – visible over the trees and houses that line the water.  One of three 17th century ‘round’ churches in the city, Marekerk was the first church to be built in Leiden after the Reformation; and is a fine example of Dutch Baroque architecture.

The drypoint has all the makings for a prototypically picturesque view; a placid canal lined with trees and houses, a simple yet elegant church. However, the wide stretch of pavement that runs alongside the canal pushes the more picturesque elements of the work slightly too far over to give the viewer a clear vista of the canal. While the viewer might wish that our line of sight was a touch more to the right and raised slightly, this vantage point gives it a palpable realism – a depiction of what it is, not what it could be. Interesting compositions are a characteristic of
many works by Bone, the Trevi Fountain (1915) – also in Te Papa’s collection (1963-0005- 3) – being a contemporaneous example. Here, Bone also selects an unusual vantage point from which to present the fountain.

Sources:

British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=131762

David Cohen, ‘Bone, Muirhead’, Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, accessed: 6 December 2017

National Galleries Scotland, https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/sir-muirhead-bone

Wikipedia, 'Muirhead Bone', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muirhead_Bone

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   August 2018