'When Apples were Golden and Songs were Sweet' by John Melhuish Strudwick

'When Apples were Golden and Songs were Sweet' (c.1906) by John Melhuish
Strudwick; Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

Today I discovered another Pre-Raphaelite painter unknown to me, John Melhuish Strudwick, born on 6 May 1849. In the 1870s, he worked as a studio assistant to Edward Burne-Jones and this is reflected in his art style. His paintings are a mixture of Renaissance and medieval styles and show precise attention to detail, especially in his treatment of fabrics and accessories. His use of deep colours is inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites and Burne-Jones. Some of his paintings wear beautiful poetic titles like 'Thy Music, faintly falling, dies away, Thy dear eyes dream that Love will live for aye', or like the full title of today's painting 'When Apples were Golden and Songs were Sweet, but Summer had Passed Away'.