Paul Peel 1860 - 1892

Possibly sold at Oliver, Coate & Co., Toronto, October, 1890. no. 31, under the title, Return of the Flock

Private Collection, Ontario

Victoria Baker, Paul Peel, A Retrospective, 1860 - 1892, London, 1986, p. 26, quote by A. Henry Blackburn

Previously lined and stretched onto a new stretcher. Tacking margins have been cropped. The painting has been previously restored and it seems in three stages and each has added some inpainting to address different issues. Older inpaintings were identified by a weaker UV fluourescence compared to more recent areas that fluoresce much stronger/darker. For example, the whole sky has been inpainted, but some clouds have been added much later. Likewise, areas just left of the pathway have been inpainted some time ago whereas the touch ups to the bushes just above this area are more recent and thus more visible under UV light. The most recent inpainting was of aesthetic nature to integrate the old inpaint which left a lighter “halo” between the sky and the landscape. We would like to thank In Restauro for their expertise in preparing the above.
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Peel studied his craft in Philadelphia under Thomas Eakins and later in the Paris ateliers where the study of anatomy and the academic tradition were stressed.

It was in Paris that he soon mastered how to depict the effects of light and shadow in his paintings and, as in Bringing Home the Flock, his "plein air" images are a testament to how quickly he absorbed how to depict strong light in his art while still striving to adhere to the academic principles.

This was Peel's first summer in Pont Aven, Brittany and Peel was to carefully document what he saw.  He delighted in sentimental studies of children and this work is a colourful example of life in this small tourist resort for artists.

As Henry Blackburn noted in 1879:

It would be very strange if a country so besprinkled with white caps should not attract artists in search of picturesque costume and scenes of pastoral life... Brittany offers the best opportunities for outdoor study, and more suggestive scenes for the painter.

This study of the young Breton girl in her native costume exemplifies the landscape of Brittany.