Sailing barges on calm water

Copyright

Work in the public domain
Image: Courtauld
by-nc

Maker

John Le Capelain (artist)
1812-1848

Title

Sailing barges on calm water

Date of Production

1800 - 1899

Medium

watercolour on cream tinted, wove paper

Dimensions

Height: 17.1 cm
Width: 25.6 cm

Object Number

D.1952.RW.4389

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Location

Not currently on display
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Keywords

Label Text

This sheet, so deceptively simple in subject, reminds one of similar works by Peter de Wint. There is the same delicate blocking-in of the sails and hulls of the three barges, the masts and sea birds are drawn in with the point of the brush, and there is no preliminary pencil underdrawing. There is some scoring of the paper along the waterline of the foreground boat to suggest rippling foam. The otherwise almost monochromatic treatment of the composition is relieved by touches of pink and yellow on the super-structure of the nearest boat. A slightly darker wash in the background may be intended to indicate mist rising from the surface of the water, and is a characteristic touch.

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right corner, brown ink, signed by the artist: "J. LeCapelan". Verso: lower right corner, graphite: "3".

Collector's mark: none.

Provenance

property of a Lady, Sotheby's (London), 10 May 1950, lot 69; purchased from there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

English Landscape Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Gallery, London, 01/01/1965-01/05/1965

Literature

English Landscape Drawings from the Witt Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1965
cat. no. 42
Blunt, Anthony, Hand-list of the drawings in the Witt Collection, London, 1956
p. 31

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