Let There Be Light . . .

Cara/Andrea here,
The summer equinox arrived this past weekend, which always puts me in a very travel frame of mind. Long days, glorious golden light, balmy nights—they seem to sing a siren’s song, beckoning one to set out and experience new sights, new settings.

Now, those of us traveling today just whip out our i-phones and snap away merrily, recording our peregrinations with the mere flick of a finger. Regency travelers required far more skill to capture the essence of a place—and so in homage to the art of travel, thought I’d share a small sketch of one of my favorite artists of the era.

“Had Bonington lived, I would have starved.” —JMW Turner

Despite his short life—he died of tuberculosis at age 26—Richard Parkes Bonington is recognized as master of the Romantic era. His brilliant rendering of light and his ability to capture the magic of a seemingly mundane moment earned him the highest accolades from his contemporaries—including Turner and Eugene Delacroix, with whom he shared a studio for a short time.

Bonington was born in England, and showed a remarkable aptitude for art from early childhood—at age 11, his paintings were exhibited at the Liverpool Academy. His family moved to Calais, France in 1817, where his father set up a lace factory. In 1820, he began studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Artes in Paris. It was at this time that he began traveling the countryside and sketching everyday life. His work was rooted in the traditions of  the Old Masters that he copied at Louvre, but he brought a very modern sensibility to his work that captivated both the public and his peers.

In 1825, he made trip back to England, and spent time roaming the countryside with Delacroix as a sketching partner. In 1826, two years before his untimely death, he visited Italy and spent a month painting in Venice. I could wax poetic on his technical virtuosity and artistic eye, but instead I think I’ll simply let his art speak for itself.

So, what do you think? Do you like these paintings as much as I do? Do you have a favorite artist that makes you think of summer and all the special personal things the season evokes for you?

Comments

[HJ]

Thank you for introducing me to Bonnington. I shall have to search out more information on him.

[Shannon]

These paintings are delightful. I have not heard of this artist before.

Monet and his waterlilies make me thing of summer.

But my favorite is Matisse. Since he painted a lot in Morocco for a couple of years, there's a sense of endless summer in his paintings from that era. His paper collages, made because he was ill and could no longer paint are light made bright and shining.

[Andrea Penrose]

Glad you enjoyed his paintings, HJ. I really love his ethereal quality of light and water.

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, Monet and the waterlilies! Perfect choice! Matisse is brilliant too—you are so right about his rendering of light, which is for me, what makes a painting sing.

[Sonya Heaney]

What a gorgeous collection of paintings.

We had our *shortest* day here over the weekend, so it’s all going to get better and brighter from here!

Completely unrelated, but your post reminded me of a stunt a television show here in Australia pulled a few years ago. They went out to Sydney Harbour and stopped tourists and asked them to paint portraits (instead of a photograph) of them with the Opera House in the background. It was hilarious how many befuddled tourists actually did it.

[Andrea Penrose]

Ha, Sonya, apologies to our friends Down Under for talk of summer. But hopefully the pictures warmed and brightened the shortest day.

I really love Bonington's sense of ethereal light and the way he seems to capture a fleeting moment. It feels so spontaneous and natural, just as one's eye sees a scene. That's an incredible artistic talent to have.

Love the tourists painting themselves in the Sydney Harbor. It's a shame sketching skills have died away. Travelers used to record their impressions and I think it made them look at things more carefully, and really see their surroundings.

[Jenny]

Love these paintings. I had heard the name but don't think I had ever seen any of Bonington's work before so thank you.
As Sonya said we have just had our shortest day here in Australia. In Tasmania, where I live, Hobart has a winter festival, to celebrate the dark. A large public winter feast, music, drama, light shows on the clouds (lights pointing up to the night skies), and culminating in a rather popular nude swim in the very cold River Derwent (around 700 participated this year). All good fun.

[Elaine McCarthy]

Beautiful.

[Karin]

I also never heard of Bonington. What a shame his life was cut short, such gorgeous paintings! Thank you for introducing him to us. Monet is the painter I naturally associate with summer also. But Winslow Homer also favored paintings set in summertime, even the ones that are not landscapes per se almost always have summer in the background.

[Carolyn]

What beautiful paintings. I was not familiar with Bonington's work. I plan to check at the Nelson Art Gallery to see if they have any of his paintings ,so I can appreciate his talant. Thanks for bringing his art to my attention.

[Andrea Penrose]

Oh, that swim sounds VERY cold. Hope they all had hot toddies waiting. Or they can look at some of Bonington's sunny scenes to warm the cockles!

The solstice celebrations really are great fun, and something very elemental to our human nature, I think. It's good we stay in touch with our connection to the cycles of the natural world.

[Andrea Penrose]

So glad you enjoyed them, Elaine. For me, he really has a very unique artistic gift.

[Andrea Penrose]

Karin, Bonington is a fairly new discovery for me too. A friend of mine is a huge fan and showed me one of the paintings in a recent museum visit we made together, and I was hooked.

Another wonderful artist whose life was too short was Thomas Girtin, who was a friend of Turner. He, too, died in his 20's, but the work he left is spectacular.

Love Homer—his seascapes are some of my favorites!

[Andrea Penrose]

You're welcome, Carolyn. So glad you enjoyed the. I believe the National Galley has some of his work, and the Tate, too—don't know about the Nelson Gallery.

[Cathy Phillips]

I havee never heard of Bonington before. His pictures are beautiful and mesmerizing. Thanks for introducing him.

[Faith @ Demon for Details]

Beautiful! Thanks for this one...

[Bona]

Yes, I like Bonington's pictures.
My two favourite landscape painters are Caspar David Friedrich and John Constable. Only -they don't make me think of summer, but of coldness, rain and wind in lonely beaches (Constable) or the loneliness of men in front of nature (Friedrich).
So, I think the best painter that, for me, gives me the idea of summer, clear skyes, heat and beaches is the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla. His ladies, dressed in white and walking on the seashore, and the nude children, sunbathing in the Mediterranean sun, are the perfect image of joy of life.

[Donna]

I'm playing catch up after a busy week, but a resounding YES! I love these paintings. I have never even heard of this brilliant painter, so a huge thank you for bringing us this post.

[Andrea Penrose]

Bona, thank you for the recommendation of Sorolla! He is a new-to-me artist, and I really like his paintings. Very summery indeed!

[Andrea Penrose]

So glad you enjoyed them, Donna. As I said, he was new to me as well, and I really enjoyed discovering his genius, so I'm happy that all of you my sharing them with you.