March is the third month of the year and named after Mars in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 marks the astronomical beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where September is the seasonal equivalent of the Northern Hemisphere’s March. Reference: Wikipedia.
In astrology, March has two signs, Pisces and Aries. Someone born up to the 20th March is under the sign of Pisces and from the 21st March, Aries.
March is often depicted in art as the beginning of spring or of Mars, the Roman God. Below are some examples of depictions of the month of March.
Drawing in pencil and watercolour on paper Marks and inscriptions ‘MARCH’ ’18EJP69′ Monogram signature of Edward John Poynter within the date 1869. ‘ARIES’ Refers to the zodiac sign of Aries, represented by the image of a ram (shown underneath). ‘DESIGN FOR SPACE ON / RIGHT-HAND OF LARGE / WINDOW’ ‘REFRESHMENT RO / S.K.M. / JULY 20.1’ Inscription partially missing where edge of paper is torn. Refers to the Refreshment Rooms at the South Kensington Museum, now the V&A. ‘DETAIL / OF BORDER. / FULL SIZE.’ Refers to a detail in the left-hand margin which shows the border design to be used for the tile panel in full size.
Reference: © Victoria and Albert Museum
March Calendar with Swan and Aries in roundels Monastery in the Diocese of Augsburg, mid 13th century (calendar and litany); Bénigne-Charles Févret de Saint-Mémin (1770-1852)
Reference: The Walters Art Museum
March, as a roman soldier, in a chariot pulled by aries the ram, a cupid hovering above, preparing to throw an arrow into its path; after Edward Francis Burney, from a series of the months. 1807 Stipple and etching
Reference: © The Trustees of the British Museum
THE COMPLETE SERIES OF THIRTEEN ORIGINAL DRAWINGS FOR THE EMBLEMATA EVANGELICA BY HANS BOL, TOGETHER WITH THE PLATES ENGRAVED BY ADRIAEN COLLAERT. The drawings in pen and brown ink, traces of black chalk, brown wash, brown ink framing lines, signed ‘HBol 1585’ (January and February), signed ‘Hans Bol/ 1585’ (March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November) and signed ‘Hans Bol/ 15845 [sic.] (143 x 210mm); engravings trimmed to platemark (150 x 208mm), some with 19th-century numbering in pencil. (Occasional small, light stain in engraving.) Each drawing and engraving mounted on wove paper (no visible watermark) within brown ink framing line, bound and interleaved to 4o (337 x 280mm) in early 19th-century maroon straight-grained morocco tooled in gilt and blind, Spencer-Churchill arms at centre of both covers, spine lettered in gilt, gilt edges (minor bumping or rubbing). Provenance: George Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, later 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766-1840; binding; sale, Evans, White Knights Library, 7-19 June 1819, lot 562, 31gns. 10s. to Jeffery) – A.H. Bright (1912 bookplate; manuscript addition to his printed catalogue of 1913).
Sold for GBP 338,500 at Christie’s in 2014
A brown transfer tile picturing a woman and child in the foreground and figure in horse drawn wagon in background, all responding to strong March winds, the Aries zodiac sign and stylized lettering of MARCH.
Sold for $140 at Soulis Auctions in 2018
The Month of March ca. 1866 Sir Edward Burne-Jones British Burne-Jones worked with William Morris on decorative projects for more than thirty years. This early design represents March as a young woman carrying a ram, the zodiacal sign for Aries. She stands amid blooming crocuses and blackthorn and is serenaded by a song thrush. The drawing was used to create a painted panel, one of a series dedicated to the months in the Green Dining Room at the new South Kensington (now Victoria and Albert) Museum. The scheme helped to establish the reputation of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Company, and the finished room was described in 1875 as “one of the pleasantest little picture-galleries in existence.”
Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
