The Net Mender / Mending the Net by Marianne Stokes (1855-1927), 1899-1900 (exhibited 1900). Oil on canvas. H 64 x W 70 cm. In the collection of the Guildhall Art Gallery, accession no. 954, presented by Sir Thomas Lane Devitt, 1914. Kindly made available by the gallery via Art UK on the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence (CC BY-NC). According to the gallery's information on the Art UK website, It was shown at Adrian and Marianne Stokes's joint exhibition, "Dutch Life and Landscape," at the Fine Art Society in 1900. The gallery explains that the couple "had spent part of the previous year in The Netherlands but the works produced were all painted in London."
The composition, showing a simple, almost bare room, with the sitter at an angle, facing away from the viewer and looking down at her work, is an unusual, subdued one. The only kind of decoration is a crucifix hanging on the wall, suggesting a life of quiet and simple piety, almost like a nun's. The patterned window too is reminiscent of church stained glass. But the most attractive aspect of the quiet scene is the light coming through part of the window and the upper part of the door (and, it seems, from another door beyond). The light catches the net and produces a faint shimmering, while the woman herself casts a vague shadow on the wall. Her white bonnet and red collar stand out against the earthier tones around her. It is really masterly, and very beautiful. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Bibliography
The Net Mender. Art UK. Web. 5 June 2023.
Created 4 June 2023