A Summer Night

Albert Joseph Moore painted A Summer Night between 1884 and 1890, a landmark work of English Aestheticism. Four female figures rest on a terrace overlooking a moonlit sea, each shown in various stages of semi-undress. They share similar features and forms, arranged across the canvas in subtly contrasted but related poses.

The painting measures 228.5 x 132 cm and combines all of Moore's aesthetic preferences. Floral garlands interweave with an openwork trellis, while the silvery moonlight creates an atmospheric backdrop. The pale clouds festooning the dark sky mirror the human scene in the foreground.

The work hangs at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, purchased in 1890. It represents Moore's mature style, where his earlier shallow backgrounds dissolve into nature.