Clarence Bicknell’s principal works of poetry are in Esperanto; in fact there are no serious poems in English in the museums referred to on this site nor in the family collection. Some doggerel illuminates some of the work for children or for Margaret Berry, but they are hardly poems. Clarence’s poems in Esperanto, like his hymns, […]
It would seem evident at first glance that Clarence Bicknell, man of the church, would gravitate naturally towards writing hymns as a means of expression. However, as early as 1876 when Clarence was only 34 he began to have serious religious doubts. By 1880, within a year of settling in Bordighera, on the Italian Riviera,
Clarence Bicknell learned Esperanto in 1897, having previously studied Volapuk which enjoyed some success as a planned international language before being largely superseded by Esperanto. Bicknell must have started writing Esperanto around 1900 because his piece “La Piemonta Valo Pesio” (The Piedmont Pesio Valley) appeared in the collection Esperantaj Prozajo (Pieces of Esperanto Prose) in
Clarence Bicknell, archaeologist. An appreciation, by Christopher Chippindale. In 1909, the senior French prehistorian Cartailhac paid Bicknell a visit. He was greatly interested by his long day’s excursion into the Val Fontanalba. The rocks were much more wonderful than he had expected; and he said. “It is a great mystery.” His antiquarian colleagues had previously
The Vallée des Merveilles, also known in Italian as the Valle delle Meraviglie (Valley of Marvels), is a part of the Mercantour National Park in southern France. It means “the valley of marvels” but most English-speakers use the name in French. The mountainous area, including the valleys of Meraviglie and Fontanalba, together with the towns
Clarence did not regard himself as an archaeologist. When he first went up into the Mercantour region in 1881, he certainly knew about the rock engravings but his main motive was to extend his botanical studies from the Mediterranean plants round Bordighera to include alpine specimens. He was to use the same painstaking and meticulous
Clarence Bicknell, the Collector. What is it about the human brain which makes collecting so compulsive? Many people find delight in hobby collecting; certain types of antiques, Toby jugs, Fabergé eggs, medicine jars, French pochoir fashion prints of the 1920s or garden gnomes. Children (and grown-up children) like to collect toys, especially when they make
Although Clarence is known as a painter of botanical water colours, he painted and drew sketches all his life. The Bicknell family collection and the Museo Bicknell have many examples of architecture, landscapes and images which Clarence observed on his travels. His watercolour of Florence, left, is dated 1885, the same year as the publication of
Painting & Drawing Read More »
Clarence’s painting and drawing was not limited to his water colours of plants. He sketched landscapes, architectural detail, and other subjects especially when he was walking or travelling. Much of his illustration is enhanced into patterns, such as the repetitive use of the stem of a flower and its blossom to create a frame for
In the summer of 1886, Clarence Bicknell rented a house at Castérino on the gentler slopes of Mount Bego, where he could combine his studies of alpine plants and the rock engravings. Increasingly his summers were spent in amassing his collection of drawings, rubbings, and photographs, on which he based his first papers in Italian
