Introduction
Watercolour painting can be defined as a painting technique using
various pigments soluble in water with the addition
of gum to bond the pigment to the paper. The earliest
known use of this technique
was by the Italian Renaissance painter Raphael who
painted some full-scale cartoons as precursors for
some tapestry designs using
not only the watercolour technique but also the addition
of a white pigment to the colour tones to create a
body colour which could
be considered as an early form of gouache.
The Early Days of Watercolour Painting in England
Many people believe that watercolour painting evolved in 18th
century England. Although the English watercolour painters of this
period reached heights of brilliance which had previously been
unknown, the origins of this form of art were actually German through
what is thought to be the innovator of watercolour painting—Albrecht
Durer(1471-1528) who was developing the watercolour and gouache
technique in his own characteristic manner probably in the same
decade as Raphael . Later in 18th century England Paul Sandby (1725-1809)
was called the ‘father of English watercolour and his success
in the medium was reflected by the fact that he created half of
the watercolours of his time. He became a public figure and a foundation
member of the Royal Academy.
Many other artists became renowned for their work in this medium
including - John Crome (1768-1821)who was a member of the Norwich
School of artists, John Varley (1778-1842) who was renowned for
the quality of his work as he was a true exponent of landscape
using his qualities of the use of colour and shape. John Sell Cotman
(1782-1842) came from Norwich to make his mark in London. He became
distinguished for his remarkable control of flat washes to give
a remarkable effect. Thomas Girtin (1755-1851) used watercolours
with a very limited palette and very thin washes which would be
built up into a strong tonal composition. J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851)
was also a great innovator surpassing Girtin’s method to
achieve new expressions of dramatic landscape and marine paintings.
Peter de Wint (1784-1849) was an eminent landscape watercolourist—his
work is well represented in galleries throughout the United Kingdom.
Prior to and during this period other famous artists have used
watercolour painting to supplement their skills with
oil paint including Van Dyke (1599-1641), Gainsborough (1727-1788)
and John
Constable (1776-1837). Constable used watercolour to
capture a moment of time - an atmospheric moment—a rainbow,
cloud, reflection on water and any other information he could use
to paint
his larger oil paintings.
19th Century
Since the 18th century many eminent artists have used the medium—including
Richard Parkes Bonnington(1802-1828) who had a brief career. He
bridged the gap between English and French painting by learning
his art from Louis Francia, who was an Anglo-French artist, who
taught him how to paint in the traditions of Girtin and Varley,
Influenced by Blake, Samuel Palmer (1805-1881), developed a new
technique to express his ideas- using thick opaque colour. John
Singer Sargent (1856-1925) used watercolours as a relief from portraiture.
His work was mainly done on holiday in Italy and Spain. Philip
Wilson Steer(1860-1942) used a delicate technique while Sir William
Russell Flint (1880-1969) worked mainly on location with much of
the finer detail done in the studio. He had the remarkable technique
of lifting paint from the paper to create either characters or
other elements of detail. These latter artists were influenced
by the advent of Impressionist painting in the late 18th century.
20th Century
During the 20th century watercolour has been used widely as not
only as an exclusive medium but also an auxiliary mode of expression
as primary sketches for other works. Changes in the way the medium
is expressed is also evident, not only with the advent of the use
of mixed media but also wide variation in the use of subject matter,
reflecting the changing way art was progressing. There were many
prominent painters however who used the medium in the traditional
style, too many to mention here.
Watercolour has come a long way since the time of Raphael and
Durer. Today there are thousands of individuals globally who love
to paint using watercolour medium. Many societies, art clubs and
classes have evolved to give people the opportunity to express
themselves both as individuals and in groups to promote a competitive
element in the use of watercolour medium.
The text displayed on this page remains Copyright of English Watercolours
2001
