1000 Watercolours of Genius

544 Pages·2018·77.234 MB·English

by  Victoria Charles, Klaus H. Carl

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Watercolours
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Genius
Authors: © Estate of Pablo Picasso/ Artists Rights Society (ARS),
Victoria Charles New York, USA/ ADAGP, Paris
Klaus H. Carl © Wyndham Lewis (Rights reserved)
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Table of Contents
Introduction 7
14th - 15th centuries 11
16th century 35
17th century 103
18th century 167
19th century 251
20th century 403
Chronology 530
List of Artists 540
5

Introduction
Is watercolour the oldest painting technique in world Sculpture in the last decade of the 18thcentury under Louis XVI.
history? Be it in the caves of Lascaux or the ancient petro- Some years later in England, in 1804, the founding of the
glyphs in Egypt and Greece, colour pigment mixed in Society of Painters in Water Colours created recognition of
water was always found. In the Middle Ages, the book watercolour as an official, independent art form.
painters used water-thinned colours to illustrate manuscripts.
Each miniature on vellum paper in more or less opaque
colours formed the origin of modern watercolour which we The Seach for a Definition of Watercolours.
know today.
The Renaissance painters used watercolour for studies “In the old manuscripts, the texts were decorated with
and modelli. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), for example, illustrations and figures, which were produced on
produced a considerable number of drawings on which he vellum or the skin of stillborn calves. One viewed the
used various techniques and complementary mediums, first miniatures in such works [...]; the genre was
including watercolour, which served to better bring out his perfected in Italy, Germany, and especially France,
drawn lines. Towards the end of the 15th century, with where it made rapid progress under Karl V.; still the
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) came the first widely recognised invention of printing made sure, with its high paper
artist in appearance who fully committed himself to water- output, that the miniatures were abandoned. The
colour: He created around one hundred of them, which artists, who had prescribed to this exquisite genre,
made him the first established watercolourist in art history. created delicate figures which one framed, later
Later, it was the genre artists of landscape painting who portraits, with which one decorated candy boxes,
appropriated the watercolour technique and recognised the bracelets, and finally, trays. The colours were applied
advantages that the technique had in respect to the presen- as gouache, that means thick and often mixed with
tation of light effect. white, which gave it a floury and plaster-like look.
Despite it all, it was a long road until watercolour Watercolour was the result of perfecting gouache and
paintings were considered a true, independent art form. In the miniatures; it can be applied to numerous genres
its history, it was always subject to the current tastes and and is gradually expanding following the transition of
the technical achievements of the the respective epoch. art today. (Frederic August Antoine Goupil., Traité
Partly discredited, partly thrust into obscurity, watercolour d’aquarelle et de lavis en six leçons [discourse on watercolour
first received a definition, in the strict sense, at the end of and washing in six lectures, 1858]
the 18thcentury. For a long time it appeared as a foundati-
onless art form because, conceptually, it was ill-defined. The word ‘watercolour‘ as we understand it today, was first
Watercolourpaintings were considered scattered, a pasttime, used quite late in the language of art collection. The words
an amateurishart. In fact, the existence of watercolours was watercolour in English and acquerello in Italian - which arose
rarely mentioned in texts before the 19th century, or the from aquarelle in French, Aquarell in German and acuarela in
concepts were, to some degree, arbitrarily used: Even in 1757, Spanish - went rather early into the necessary vocabulary. They
none other than Denis Dierot (1713-1784) used the word literally mean watercolour or painting. Despite this relatively
‘gouache‘ incorrectly. conceptual meaning, they were first recorded in the dictionary
Even when the technique itself, especially when in the middle of the 19th century. Therefore, the vocabulary
compared to oil painting, was subjected to the opinion of exhibits, the text in relation to the watercolour painting, a
‘less worthy’, artists were still never tired of working with it certain arbitrariness. We consider them as the technique of
and perfecting it. Dürer received more fame for his works in painting with water, and so distemper, washing,and gouache
oil, and his etchings and wood cuttings, which were could also be considered the beginning of watercolour. For this
commissioned. Even so, he still busied himself equally with reason, it seems impossible to explain the history of watercolour
watercolour as much as he could in order to express himself without giving these older methods attention beforehand.
more freely and spontaneously. In France, the watercolourists Distemper painting is a technique by which the colour
were permitted into the Académie Royale de Peinture et de is first mixed with water and subsequently, in order,
7
thinned out with warm hide glue or arabic gum. The “Und niemals fehlten solche Wasserfarben / Dem
technique enjoyed great popularity before oil painting was Aufruhr, seine Sache zu bemalen.“ [William Shakespeare,
invented. Opposite of watercolour, distemper was used on ibid., Übersetzung von August Wilhelm Schlegel und
canvas or wood. The only point of view that connects it with Dorothea Tieck, 1800]
watercolour is the fact that its application was attributed
to waterpainting. Washing is a procedure that equally In 1597, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) used the
presents the characteristics of drawing and painting and is compound word water-coloursin Henry IV. The English and
based on the application of pigment, mainly black Indian the German version refer to the word aquarell, as we use it
ink, which gets dissolved in water. This procedure was today. In French, however, François Guizot (1787-1874)
common in the 17thcentury and exerted a great influence on decided to translate the same term with ‘enluminures‘. And
the English watercolourists of the 19th century. Today, actually, watercolour did indeed develop, as we have seen,
washing is considered the main technique of watercolour as initially within the art form of enluminure (book painting).
an artistic genre. Its transparent colour layers allow it to The German translation, ‘Wasserfarbe’, followed the original
translate the particular effect of light and dark in a very English meaning instead of using ‘Aquarell‘.
nuanced manner. The French lyricist Yves Bonnefoy (born in 1923) chose a
Concerning gouache, it is certainly the technique similar more recent translation of the same verse for the following
to watercolour and is most closely tied to it. It is an opaque wording: “Jamais certes une insurrection n’a manqué / De ces
technique of thick consistency, that is prepared by combining couleurs d’un sou pour orner sa cause…“ This word choice,
colour with arabic gum-mixed water. Watercolour and which in German could be reproduced more or less as ‘grosch
gouache were often applied in works together. For a long time colours‘, discreetly refers to an inexpensive painting that
the two techniques have only been vaguely differentiated. William Shakespeare spoke of when he used ‘water-colours‘,
There exist more concepts in English to describe this which is effortlessly completed, and thus, is also easy to obtain
technique: gouache, opaque, watercolour or bodycolour. To both technically and price-wise. In reality, watercolour
this day, it is customary to use the word gouache for all three painting also has the reputation of being an economic art form:
terms. In the 19thcentury the watercolourists got the idea that economic in regard to the funds, in that it is cheaper than oil,
authentic watercolour must be free from gouache technique in economic in regard to expenditure of time, in that it dries
order to be completely pure. Because of this, ‘watercolour‘ is faster, and economic in regard to its proportions, in that the
defined as the primary painting technique by which triturated artists, different than with oil paintings, usually work in
pigment is mixed with water and applied to paper, which smaller formats, in drawing books etc.
creates a transparent effect. With end of the 15thcentury, watercolour technique was,
At the time, the artists’ aspiration for transparency due to the great expeditions to hitherto unknown regions, more
formed the starting point for stylistic research. In reality, the widely used: It allowed the new landscapes as well as the newly
technique later developed itself to this purpose by using discovered species to be quickly sketched. It also proved itself
new tools: knives, brushes, sponges, rags, and also finger- useful in scientific studies. Botanists and cartographers resorted
nails. The anecdotes about the painting Helvoetsluys; - the to watercolour without, however, being considered an artist.
City of Utrecht, 64, Going to Sea by Turner (1775-1851) Up until that point, watercolour held the status of a mere
illustrated this: After his work was hung in the Paris Salon auxiliary tool, a routine practice. In the 19thand 20thcentury,
in 1832, it seemed to him so graceless that he had added a under the painters, the Orientalists strove towards those
red fleck to the ocean with his finger, which he transformed worlds that offered them new and brilliant colours, then,
into a buoy. equipped with their tubes of paint, they frenetically filled their
sketchpads and followed the example of Paul Klee, who
during his trip to Tunisia wrote in his journal:
A Controversial Technique
“Wednesday, the 8.4. Tunisia. The head full of the
“And never yet did insurrection want / Such water- nightly impressions of yesterday’s evening. Art –
coloursto impaint his cause.” [Henry IV., Part 1. Act V, nature – me. Immediately began to work and painted
Scene 1, Verse 1597] watercolour in the arab quarter. The syntheses of urban
architecture – architecture under attack. Still not pure,
“Jamais révolte n’a manqué / De ces enluminurespour but fully appealing, something with much travelling
en revêtir sa cause.” [William Shakespeare, ibid., mood and passion for travel here, also the ego.“
Übersetzung von François Guizot, 1863] (The Diaries of Paul Klee, 1914)
8
— INTRODUCTION —
Art of the poor, art of amateurs, strictly functional art – for cases they were viewed as a decorative medium. Before it
a long time watercolour painting lacked recognition on the could free itself from the obligatory pencil sketch, watercolour
part of the professional art world. Only when painters began was used as a mere accessory to other techniques. However, it
to prefer this medium over oilwas it met with gradual respect. had difficulty establishing itself as an independent process.
The history of watercolour took on a new turn: It’s production The emergence of new techniques also played a decisive roll in
rapidly increased, and it expanded. By the 19thcentury, artists the development of the watercolour art form. The use of water-
like Turner and Delacroix (1798-1863) and later Cézanne thinned colour was complicated until chemical colours and
(1839-1906) and Kandinsky (1866-1944) and also Klee, all of resistent paper was invented.
them celebrated by critics, encouraged the idea that this art
inherently revealed beauty and gave it value in the eyes of “Never, at no time, had watercolour managed to attain
artists and the general public. The newly won acceptance was that brilliance of colour; never before had the sparseness
now manifested: Works that were only produced with of the chemically generated colour spritzed such an
resources of watercolour technique were exhibited in the evocative gem of sparkle on paper, such a shimmer,
official salons, side by side with traditional oil paintings. similar to that of church windows, through with the
Charles Baudelaire‘s (1821-1867) commentary in his Salon of sunbeams gleam, such a fabulous, dazzling splendour
1846 also shows evidence of that new appreciation. of materials and of flesh.” (Joris-Karl Huysmans,
Against Nature, 1884)
“This watercolour painted lion has, in addition to the
grace of the drawing and the attitude, a great value to Watercolour is a work in colour. Originating from the ‘La
me: that it was painted with great kindheartedness. Querelle des Colouris‘ (The Dispute over Colour) titled
Watercolour is limited to its modest role, and it does aesthetic debate of the 17th century, watercolour thus found
not seek to emulate oil painting.“ [Charles Baudelaire, itself in an in-between state. It beheld the alleged intelligence
Salon of 1846] of drawing and the charm of colour. Still, this dual quality was
not awarded to it without a fight, and the ambiguity of its
One hundred years later, the artist Paul Colin (1892-1985) existence gave it more of a disadvantage than an advantage.
wrote about Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819-1891) As a work in colour it was naturally more closely affiliated
with painting; watercolour, however, was produced on paper.
“The watercolours of Jongkinds: the long phase which In the museums, this type of art work was stored in the hall for
stretches from Nivernaisto Dauphine, is that in which he graphic arts, next to drawings and sketches. The material
completely obtains mastery – in which the genius paper is, therefore, inextricably associated with this technique.
synthetically notes that it is intrinsically him in the This is the reason why afterterwards Delacroix felt,
highest degree and offers him the best advantages to
administer his finest, liveliest, unexpected washings. “The charm of watercolour, in contrast to every oil
Every sheet is a daring exploit that only he could painting, reddish and faded[...] that lies in this incessant
succeed at; and still,nothing seems simpler, nothing transparency of papers; this proves that this quality is
more obvious, nothing more banal as that hasty game shattered if one resorts, even a little bit, to gouache; in
with the paintbrush, in which –with some bister strokes gouache, it is completely lost.“ [Eugène Delacroix, My
in blue and green, which he lays just over a little more Journal, 6 October 1847]
than indicated structure – he captures the essence of the
land,which he presents in an image and not just the The goal of this volume is,therefore,to trace the complex
landscape that expands before him.“ [Paul Colin, J. B. history of watercolour, which was initially disregarded by
Jongkind, 1931] critics and later praised. Numerous images should contribute
to the characteristics and trends of the respective epochs as
well as the manner of illustration, and how, during the
Watercolour: Painting or Drawing? changing centuries, the watercolour paintings pushed through
until it finally became a recognised art form. Every chapter
If for a long time watercolour suffered from a lack of recognition, focuses on a specific aspect of watercolour painting in addition
it is this fact that can explain its hybrid character. The artists of to an overall portrayal of the development of the respective
the Renaissance used watercolour painting to colour drawings, epoch. We will see that all of the great masters worked with
studies and modelli: One, therefore, spoke of ‘colouring‘, watercolour painting and left behind brilliant watercolours
‘watercoloured drawings‘ and ‘topographic washing‘. In these which this volume holds ready for (re)discovery.
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