The Sacred Mistletoe

For they believe that whatever grows on these trees is sent from heaven, and is a sign that the tree has been chosen by the gods themselves. The mistletoe is very rarely to be met with; but when it is found, they gather it with solemn ceremony. This they do above all on the sixth day of the moon, from whence they date the beginnings of their months, of their years, and of their thirty years cycle, because by the sixth day the moon has plenty of vigour and has not run half its course.
After due preparations have been made for a sacrifice and a feast under the tree, they hail it as the universal healer and bring to the spot two white bulls, whose horns have never been bound before. A priest clad in a white robe climbs the tree and with a golden sickle cuts the mistletoe, which is caught in a white cloth. ... - from 'Naturalis Historia' (XVI, 95) by Pliny the Elder

When cut down at the Winter Solstice as the sun is reborn, this divine spark of the gods is drawn down to earth symbolizing the moment of conception, although the plant is prevented from actually touching the ground and its sacredness preserved by catching it in a white cloth.
The golden sickle used to cut the mistletoe represents both the sun and the moon - a union of male and female energies. The gold symbolizing the sun and the shape of the crescent blade resembling the quarter moon. ...
Pliny also tells of the sacrifice of two white bulls and, in common with the oak, the bull is sacred to Taranis. Whilst the bull (like his zodiacal counterpart Taurus) is an earth symbol, his horns reach skywards in the shape of a crescent moon, linking earth with the realm of the gods. - Steve Tatler


1. Henri Paul Motte, Druids Cutting the Mistletoe on the Sixth Day of the Moon, circa 1890-1900 [more information from ArtMagick]
2. [information unknown]
3. E. A. Hornel and George Henry, The Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe, 1890
In the Artist's Footsteps



Image to the left is from the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

The Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe will be included in the Glasgow Boys exhibition to be shown 30 October 2010 until 23 January 2011 at the Royal Academy of Arts, London

George Henry - Poinsettia

oil on canvas
125.5 by 177 cm., 60 by 69 3/4 in.
Brief catalogue notes

George Henry - Rowans, 1895

"In 'Rowans', placed against a colourful backdrop, two pretty young girls stand amid long grass each dressed in a bright coloured robe of vibrant blue and green, clutching a rich harvest of rowan berries. The simplicity of form, colour with the minimum of modelling and the two-dimensional quality of the inderterminate landscape reveals Henry's underlying feeling for Japanese design. The rosy innocence of the two girls is Victorian in essence and Henry's use of rowans not only as a strong focal point also carries a more symbolic message. In folklore, rowan trees protect from malignant spirits and all forms of psychic attack. The rowan is also a Druid tree, one of the holy trees of the ancient Celtic brotherhood of the forests; its turns away evil spirits. The form of symbolism springs more from earlier Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood themes, seeking out mysticism and manifestations of the human soul in Nature." - from Sotheby's catalogue notes

George Henry (Scottish, 1858-1943)

Mrs Elizabeth Holt

From National Museums Liverpool -

http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/sudley/collections/

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"A central figure in The Glasgow Boys, Irvine-born [George] Henry began his association with the group in 1881 when he joined James Guthrie and Joseph Crawhall at Brig O' Turk. From 1885, a close artistic collaboration with E. A. Hornel gave a new impetus to his work which became increasingly decorative in its approach. The culmination of this development emerged in his 1889 masterpiece, Galloway Landscape, noted for its clear, vibrant colour and composition. With Hornel, he toured Japan in the early 1890s and his subsequent work was strongly influenced by these trips. In 1901, Henry moved to London and established a successful business as a society portraitist." from Visit Scotand

Some works influenced by his visits to Japan:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/30952?initial=H&artistId=3583&artistName=George%20Henry&submit=1
http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk:443/museum/whatsOnItem.php?item=264

George Henry - Through the Woods

Through the woods, 1891

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George Henry RA RSA RSW (1858-1943)
signed and dated 1891, oil on canvas,
56 x 61cm (22 x 24ins)

"... Pure colour highlights lift it beyond the tonal concerns of the mid-1880's naturalism of the Glasgow Boys, the warm hues creating a purely decorative surface pattern, texture and shallow picture space which elicited Richard Muther's 'persian carpet' observation, as he selected Glasgow pictures to exhibit in Germany." from Bonhams catalogue notes