This beautiful late 19th-century oil painting by German artist Karl Heffner (1849-1925) depicts an evening view with a river, rowing boat, and wood.As the final embers of the day fall beyond the horizon in a graduated haze of burnt sienna, a girl gathers sticks on the shore of a broad waterway. Alongside, two figures occupy a small rowing boat, one smokes a pipe while the other holds firewood. It’s a skilfully rendered scene with a superior composition and a tranquil mood. The mass of trees on the left intelligently guides the eye from the foreground towards a distant vanishing point. It’s a masterclass in tone.Heffner enjoyed the curiosities of the British countryside - preferring the damp chill of an October morning to the radiance of the continent. He’d travelled previously, including to Rome, but did so during the Winter when the conditions were less than stereotypical. Blue skies were absent from his vocabulary, they lacked drama, mood, and melancholy-tipped tonality. His ...