Description
One of the great champions of watercolor painting during the first half of the 19th century, David Cox is most celebrated for his atmospheric landscapes that convey a sense of movement and light as affected by nature. Here, translucent streaks of blue and gray in the sky suggest movement among the clouds, and small dashes of color throughout the foreground trees create a sense of rustling vegetation. Reflections on the river’s surface shimmer with light.
Provenance
Private Collection, England (?-?); (Agnew's Gallery, London) (?-?); Harry and Nina Pollock, Cleveland Heights, OH (?-2005); Painting and Drawing Society, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2005); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2005-)
Accession Number
2005.201
Medium
watercolor with graphite and scraping
Dimensions
Sheet: 19.8 x 27.1 cm (7 13/16 x 10 11/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Gift of the Painting and Drawing Society of The Cleveland Museum of Art
Tags
Drawing Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Watercolor Graphite & Pencil British
Background & Context
Background Story
David Cox (1783-1859) was an English painter known for the atmospheric, spontaneous watercolor landscapes that make him one of the most important painters of the English watercolor tradition. On the Thames from c. 1827-29 depicts the River Thames in the atmospheric, spontaneous manner that distinguishes Cox's best watercolors from the more carefully finished work of his contemporaries. The c. 1827-29 date places this in Cox's most productive period, when he was producing the atmospheric, spontaneous watercolors that are his most accomplished works.
Cultural Impact
On the Thames is important in the history of English watercolor painting because it demonstrates the atmospheric, spontaneous manner that Cox brought to watercolor landscape as one of the most important painters of the English watercolor tradition. Cox's atmospheric watercolors—combining spontaneous washes with atmospheric effect—represent one of the most important traditions in English watercolor painting, and the c. 1827-29 painting shows this tradition at its most accomplished.
Why It Matters
On the Thames is Cox's atmospheric watercolor: the River Thames rendered in the spontaneous, atmospheric manner of one of the most important painters of the English watercolor tradition. The c. 1827-29 painting shows the combination of spontaneous washes with atmospheric effect that distinguishes the English watercolor tradition.
