# The Garden of The Hesperides

The Garden of The Hesperides is a watercolor and mixed-media painting by M. Louise Stowell, in 1900. Influenced by Japanese art aesthetics, mysticism, and Symbolism, this piece depicts the mythology of the Hesperides while referencing Christianity, and potential Spirituality ideologies. Originally owned by Margaret Woodbury Strong, it is now a part of the Memorial Art Gallery's permanent Collection (acquired in 2016), and displayed in the "Faithfully Thought Out": The Artistic Collaborations of M. Louise Stowell and Harvey Ellis exhibition in 2024.

## The artist

M. Louise Stowell was a Rochester-based Arts & Crafts artist.

## Formal analysis

Stowell's The Garden of the Hesperides is a mixed media piece from the United States. Measuring 43.9 by 29.3 centimeters, this piece invites viewers into a world where mythological themes intertwine with natural elements. The artwork's moderate size, about the size of a small poster, encourages intimate engagement, allowing observers to closely examine the meticulously crafted details of the seven female figures and the enigmatic central tree, prompting viewers to explore the deeper narratives and symbolism embedded within the imagery.
Vertically oriented, the compositional structure of the scene unfolds in three sections using the trees within the landscape as dividing lines. The first section holds two women; one faces away from the viewer, extending off the picture plane, with reddish-brown hair pulled into a bun, similar in style to the other six, wearing a brown draping robe or dress with a blue belt. The other woman is seen in profile, gazing into a flaming heart that she holds in her hands. Crossing a thin, twig-like tree that stretches from the bottom to the top of the paper, the viewer enters the second section of the scene. This section features a single woman facing away from the viewer, with yellow hair and a gold dress, reaching up into the center tree that divides the second from the third section while also dividing the overall piece in half. The third and final section takes up roughly half the page and holds four women. One with her back to the audience, wearing a green dress and kneeling in front of the tree with her arm wrapped around its trunk above her head. The following two women stand side by side in profile view, wearing red and black dresses, reaching up into the tree's branches like the woman in gold, in an act of desire for a heart of their own. Behind them, the viewer catches a sliver of the final woman's blue dress and yellow hair as she steps off the picture plane. With the upward movement of the vetical lines created by the surrounding foliage and arms and gazes of the women, the viewer's gaze is brought to the main focal point of the piece: the branches and leaves of the central tree. Within the branches, a collection of red heart shapes, set on fire with gold-yellow flames, sit in the branches and leaves like fruit, imbuing mysticism to the naturalistic scene.
The use of line and color contributes to the mythological quality of the piece. Stowell's mixing of watercolor, charcoal, and ink creates a muddy and muted color palette. Primarily done in neutral colors, Stowell sticks to a palette of muted yellows, greens, blues, and reds, laying the colors down in their purest form while using black ink lines to outline the details of the women, surrounding nature, and hearts. The black lines, lack of gradient, interaction between colors, and shading flatten the piece, producing a style reminiscent of posters from the Art Nouveau era of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The color palette and lines provide a flat, non-dimensional, quality to the piece, removing it from realism and into graphic arts.
Stowell's draws on the ancient Greek myth of the Hesperides, a story centered around a magical garden where the Hesperides, the seven daughters of the evening, tended to a tree bearing golden apples, but instead of appled she uses the symbol of the Sacred Heart. By drawing on this narrative, Stowell connects her visual interpretation to The Garden of the Hesperides through the themes of mystery, the divine, and the passage between earthly and mythical realms, which are central to the original myth.
The close-cropped composition of the work creates a scene in which the viewer is—purposefully—absorbed into the crowd of women worshipping the tree. The scene is clustered, raising questions about the significance of the tree these seven women surround. The claustrophobic nature of the piece draws the viewer into the scene, pulling one to get a closer look, enveloping the viewer in the scene, blurring the lines of where the viewer's space ends and the garden begins.

### Art movements

Stowell's The Garden of the Hesperides connects to both the Arts and Crafts movement and the Symbolism Movement. The Arts and Crafts movement, which valued craftsmanship and the beauty of nature, is reflected in Stowell's detailed portrayal of the mythical garden, emphasizing organic forms and natural elements. Similarly, the work aligns with the Symbolist movement, which often focused on myth, mystery, and inner emotional or spiritual experiences. The use of dreamlike imagery and references to mythology in The Garden of the Hesperides suggests an engagement with Symbolism's interest in exploring beyond the material world.

## Provenance

The artwork was donated by Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897–1969) of Rochester to the Strong Museum (of Play) in Rochester; it was deaccessioned and purchased by the Memorial Art Gallery in 2016.