Richard Parkers BONINGTON - Rouen seen from the quais (1821)

 

Rouen seen from the quais

1821
Watercolor on paper (40,5x27,5 cm)
British Museum, London

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The bell tower of Rouen cathedral and the masts of the boats create a strong vertical development in the painting. The watercolor is the medium full of life and immediacy that has allowed the artist to relive the lively activity of the port on paper.

Bonington's style is characterized by a reduced palette, the colors of which are spread over the coarse-grained paper.

This painting was made when Bonington was studying with the painter Antoine-Jean Gros at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris.

Among his friends, Bonington could also include Eugène Delacroix, who said of him: "No painter of the modern school, perhaps no painter has ever possessed his lightness of execution, which makes, so to speak, diamonds that enchant and seduce the eye ".

Bonington spent much of his life in France creating views, landscapes and historical scenes. Shortly before his death he tried his hand at oil painting but is remembered above all for being one of the most skilled watercolors of his time.

Comparing artists: Gentile Bellini, Bellotto, Cozens, Delacroix, Gros