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"If thou hadst known"

Artist: Hole, William Fergusson Brassey, RSA · 1846-1917

"If thou hadst known"

This is a rather late example of such an overtly religious subject matter in Scottish painting. It was executed at a time when Scottish artists were…

This is a rather late example of such an overtly religious subject matter in Scottish painting.

It was executed at a time when Scottish artists were responding to wider European painting with its emphasis on naturalism, scenes of labourers and farm workers, and painting en plein air.

According to notes on the painting in the Illustrated Catalogue, the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1901, the painting was etched by Hole and this is also mentioned in 'Memories of William Hole RSA' by his Wife and that the etching was widely circulated.