The first two articles of this series on English watercolours were presented in a previous blog; the remaining four are introduced here.
In his continued historical exploration of watercolour painting Raymond described a gradual evolution from the early topographical works with a monochrome wash to a more emotive response to landscape painting. Watercolour is especially suited to the strong landscape tradition in English art and it was used consistently by the English topographers of the 18th and 19th centuries who attained a high degree of excellence and popularity between 1750 and 1850. The early works, referred to as watercolour drawings, were not so much paintings as line drawings with a watercolour wash superimposed to add tonal depth. The transparent nature of watercolour, of course, allowed the underlying detail to be retained.
While topography was concerned with a neat and precise rendition of the landscape, landscapes painted in traditional watercolour began to develop through the more imaginative processes of picture composition with looser styles of painting. The work of Thomas Girtin, Francis Towne and John Sell Cotman began to exhibit compositional arrangements with a more abstract quality and their styles reflected a brighter, warmer and more flamboyant use of colour. These key figures can be considered as innovators who began to nudge tradition forwards.
In the 20th century Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden, above all others, were responsible for bringing new life to watercolour painting with their freshness of vision for landscape subjects. But others also painted in more up-to-date ways, such as Leslie Cole, Vivian Pitchforth, John Piper and Graham Sutherland. By this time the unspoilt countryside, the subject of ‘traditional’ paintings, was beginning to disappear under the march of progress which had begun to gather pace since the onset of the industrial revolution in the 19th century. By 1939 the English landscape was under even greater threat from the Second World War. This prompted the government, under the auspices of the Pilgrim Trust, to initiate a series of topographical watercolours that recorded places and buildings of ‘characteristic national interest’ and resulted in over 1500 drawings by 97 artists. In parallel with this initiative commissions by over 300 War Artists were responsible for a further 6000 pictures (see earlier blog post).
Painting styles have continued to change in response to changing tastes and fashions as pioneering artists have moved forward the tradition of landscape painting with their evolving techniques and approaches. In his summary of English watercolour art Raymond concluded his series with a look at the contemporary work of David Gentleman, who was featured in a previous blog post. Raymond considered him to be part of the long line of descent that ran through Towne, Lear, the Nash brothers, Bawden and Ravilious. David Gentleman’s work falls well within the feel of tradition whilst he is able to interpret the heritage of landscape without getting nostalgic about it and in so doing he incorporates all aspects of the 20th century environment including such subject matter as motorway intersections and crowded townscapes.
Raymond’s background as a town planner led to a fascination of his own in the juxtaposition of manmade objects and landscapes which was often reflected in the subjects of his own paintings. Examples of his work can be viewed in the artist’s galleries on this site.