John Sell Cotman (1782-1842) [Aw90]
LAKE AND MOUNTAINS IN WALES, c. 1806
Grey-black washes over pencil (H. 27 cm, W. 36 cm)
The location of this view has not been identified, but the scenery is most reminiscent of North Wales, where Cotman toured in 1800 and perhaps again in 1802. Stylistically, the work belongs to a slightly later period, immediately after the last of the artist’s three visits to the north of England from 1803 to 1805. It was therefore executed at a crucial moment in Cotman’s career, when he left London to settle in his native Norfolk and produced the greatest works of his early maturity, including famous views of Greta Bridge (c. 1805) and Chirk Aqueduct (1806–1807).
Cotman developed a highly distinctive style of painting characterised by clearly defined patterns of shape and tone. Unlike other early nineteenth-century watercolourists, who were primarily concerned with capturing transient effects of light and weather, Cotman emphasised the underlying geometrical structure of the motif. The abstract, simplified quality of Cotman’s work was not much appreciated by contemporaries, but it proved very appealing to modern taste. In the early twentieth century, Cotman became recognised as one of the greatest English watercolourists.
Monochrome landscapes, painted with washes of grey and black or brown ink, are a particular feature of Cotman’s early output and typical of works produced by members of the Drawing Society. This informal group of artists, which Cotman joined in 1801, met each week to make landscape drawings on a set subject chosen from literature or the Bible. Unlike most other members of the Society, among them Thomas Girtin (see cat. no. 11), Cotman often used monochrome washes to depict real landscapes as well as imaginary ones. The present work is one of several monochromes made by Cotman in 1806 and 1807, all characterised by a sharp outlining of the foreground foliage and the use of very dark ink for the shadows. Other examples include Pastoral Scene, Composition (1806, British Museum) and The Waterfall (c. 1806–1807, Norwich Castle Museum). Compositionally, the Winchester drawing is closely related to On the Tees at Rockcliffe (1805 or later, Victoria & Albert Museum), and Tan y Beolch (soft ground etching, 1838).
Exhibited: Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1924–1925; Sotheby’s, London, Watercolours from Winchester College, 1988, no. 19
Provenance: Cotman’s studio sale, Christie’s, London, 1 May 1824, lot 730; gift of Harry Collison, 1940