Mackintosh Spurge Print

A digital mounted print of the Spurge watercolour by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the original of which is part of the extensive collection of the Mackintosh Estate at the Hunterian.

Mackintosh began sketching both cultivated and wild plants as a student, with his botanical drawings and observations providing an important source for the decorative detailing in his design work. The style of his flower paintings developed over a number of years, becoming more stylised. A colour wash was laid over a pencil outline, often with specific details picked out in solid colours.

This one is a composite study, with a periwinkle at the top left to complement the centrally-placed spurge (Euphorbia), although it's not clear which species of the cultivated perennial is shown. To the right are two rhododendron flowers. The study was done while Mackintosh was travelling and sketching throughout the counties of Kent and Sussex in 1909. 

Dimensions (including mount): 25.5cm x 30.5cm
Arperture: 15.5cm x 20.3cm