n EllEn’s IslE, loch KatrInE Alfred de BréAnski senior has brilliantly captured the effects of the setting sun on the breathtaking view of loch katrine. The water stretches from the foreground back into the picture and disappears behind ellen’s isle. The surrounding hills and dimming sun are reflected in its almost perfectly

still, mirror-like surface. The hills themselves, the largest of which is Ben A’an, are relatively bare and rocky, and they rise steeply and dramatically upwards, bathed in the soft pink light of the glowing sun. in the foreground, on the right-hand side some highland cattle have come down from the hills in order to drink from the loch and graze on the thick lush grass that grows at the water’s edge. They are the only sign of life in this wild but tranquil landscape.

loch katrine, in stirling, scotland, is a particularly long and narrow stretch of water, considerably less than a mile wide but over eight miles long. in one of the great engineering feats of the Victorian era the loch was enlarged, and a pipeline built from it to supply the city of Glasgow with water. Apart from its outstanding natural beauty, the area is notable for its associations with two men: rob roy and sir Walter scott (1771-1832). rob roy, sometimes seen as the scottish equivalent of robin Hood, was born on the edge of loch katrine and it was in the surrounding hills that he hid whilst an outlaw. Much of scott’s famous and influential poem, The lady of the lake, is set at loch katrine, and ellen’s isle specifically. The poem was so popular with scott’s contemporaries that many started to flock to the area.

Both Ellen’s Isle, loch Katrine and a cattle Watering beside a highland loch are comparable to much of de Bréanski’s work, an example being The Glowing of the setting sun (fig. 1). in both works a huge body of water is flanked by a dramatic mountainous landscape. in The Glowing of the setting sun, animals again have wandered to the water’s edge to find sustenance and are bathed in the soft light of dusk. in both works the sun’s pink and orange hues reflect beautifully off the craggy rock faces and the glassy surface of the water. These effects were captured brilliantly by de Bréanski and serve as the focal points for many of his paintings.

Born in london, de Bréanski was one of three siblings, all of whom became painters. He made his debut at the royal Academy in 1872 and he continued to exhibit there until 1918. He also exhibited at the royal institute of Oil

Painters and the royal Cambrian Academy. He was noted for his remarkable ability to capture specific times of the day and to depict the play of light on water, as can be seen in the present work. He had a great passion for the Highlands and perhaps more than any other painter, caught the atmospheric influences of that undulating landscape.

de Bréanski’s interest in light upon the landscape can be compared to that of John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), who shared the same ambition to glorify the British landscape and portray it at its most beautiful. The most successful of de Bréanski’s works were, like those of Grimshaw, painted at dusk or dawn on clear summer or autumn days.

de Bréanski’s brother Gustave and his son Alfred fontville de Bréanski followed his success, painting similar subjects of scottish lochs and glens. de Bréanski’s paintings were hugely popular with patrons who wished to celebrate the beauty of places they knew fondly from walking and shooting holidays. Many Victorian billiard and drawing rooms in the finer country houses boasted exceptional examples of his romantic landscapes.

ALFRED DE BReANSKI(Greenwich 1852 - Greenwich 1928)

Ellen’s Isle, loch Katrine

& cattle Watering beside a highland loch

a pair, both signed ‘Alfred de Bréanski’ (one lower left, one lower right)oil on canvas

both 61 x 91.4 cm (24 x 36 in) (2)

I

Where, gleaming with the setting sunone burnish’d sheet of living gold,loch Katrine lay beneath him roll’d,In all her length far winding lay,With promontory, creek, and bay,and islands that, empurpled bright,Floated amid the livelier light,and mountains, that like giants stand,to sentinel enchanted land.- sir Walter scott, The lady of the lake First canto, stanza XiV, 1810.

Alfred de Bréanski, The Glowing of the setting sunPrivate Collection (figure 1)