Richard Parkes Bonnington - La Ferte [c.1825]

Richard Parkes Bonnington - La Ferte [c.1825], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

The site of this fresh and immediate sketch has been cautiously identified as that of La Ferté in the estuary of La Somme, on the Picardy coast. The north coast of France was frequently travelled by Bonington, and provided him with a wealth of subjects for his coast scenes. La Ferté and nearby St.Valèry-sur-Somme were among his favourite haunts and those of his painting companions, Paul Huet and Thomas Shotter Boys.

This work is a study made on the spot. The whole is quickly and fluidly painted, with the stretches of sand, sea and sky painted with broad horizontal sweeps of the brush. On the horizon vertical sweeps indicate rain showers. Certain details, such as the boat on the left and the small boat to the right in the distance are painted wet-in-wet, but others, such as the boat on the right and the figure of the woman were likely to have been added in the studio.

Bonington (1802 – 1828) was one of the most important artists of the early nineteenth century, vital to the understanding of French and British art of the Romantic period. His range included history and subject paintings, and landscapes, highly-finished works and sketches, all imbued with a brilliance and sureness of touch which was greatly admired both during and after his lifetime. He died tragically young from consumption at the age of 26.

[Oil on fibre board, 16.7 x 27.9 cm]