Richard Parkes Bonington
English, 1801–1828
Le Crotoy
c. 1823
Depicting the fishing village of Le Crotoy, situated on a bay along the Normandy coastline, this watercolor showcases Bonington’s command of freely applied washes combined with crisply rendered detail, as in the sailors’ costumes and the rigging of the foreground boat. He masterfully calibrates the relative translucency and opacity of different materials and textures: for example, the skyline barely perceptible through the sailcloth, and the wooden posts in the left foreground that are alternately seen through and reflected in the shallow water.
Medium | watercolor, with scraping, on cream wove paper |
Dimensions | 7 15/16 x 10 13/16 in. (20.2 x 27.5 cm) |
Object Number | 2007.8.2 |
Acquisition | Gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, 2007 |
Status | Off View |
Image Caption
Richard Parkes Bonington, Le Crotoy, c. 1823, watercolor, with scraping, on cream wove paper. Clark Art Institute, gift of the Manton Art Foundation in memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, 2007.8.2
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Provenance
Sir Cuthbert Quilter; sale, Christie’s, London, 28 June 1926, no. 82, sold to Davis; S. C. Davis; Walter Horace Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted; Marcus Richard Samuel, 3rd Viscount Bearsted, probably by descent; Peter Montefiori Samuel, 4th Viscount Bearsted, probably by descent; Nicholas Alan Samuel, 5th Viscount Bearsted, probably by descent (1996–1997); sale, Christie’s, London, 8 Apr. 1997, no. 63, sold to Ackermann & Johnson, London, as agent for Manton; Sir Edwin A. G. Manton, New York (1997–d. 2005); Manton Family Art Foundation (2005–2007, given to the Clark); Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 2007.