Praeterita

After writing a 1,000 word piece about Winslow Homer's eighteen month stay at an English fishing village, I have been writing a series of primers about other artists who made similar journeys. Links to the series here: Gauguin ; Manet ; John Marin ; JMW Turner ; Monet . In the final post in this series, I rate Winslow Homer himself. Winslow Homer, The Northeaster , oil on canvas, 1895 Who Winslow Homer (1836-1910), American landscape and marine painter. Coastal associatio n The coast of New England in the USA, and Cullercoats, in the north of England. First coastal visit Like several painters in this series, Homer was born near the sea (Boston, Massachussetts), spent much time inland or in big cities while building his career, then returned to the coast, this time that of Maine, in 1883. Reasons for visiting Homer had painted marine scenes before the 1880s, but it was his two year stay in Cullercoats, a tiny fishing cove on the northeast coast of England, t...

After writing a 1,000 word piece about Winslow Homer's eighteen month stay at an English fishing village, I'm writing a series of primers about other artists who made similar journeys . Henri Matisse, "Open Window, Collioure ," oil on canvas, 1905 Who Henri Matisse (1869-1954), French painter. Coastal association The Mediterranean coast of southern France. First coastal visit In the 1890s, Matisse spent significant time on two different coastlines: Brittany, from 1894 to 1896, and Corsica in 1898. But it was his first visit to Collioure in 1905 that brought about a transformation in his ideas about painting. Collioure was/is a tiny fishing village in the extreme southeast of France, about 10 miles from the Spanish border. Henri Matisse, " View of Collioure ," oil on canvas, 1905 Reasons for visiting He joined the painter Andre Derain and spent the summer exploring Derain's ideas of using patches of pure colour, applied in almo...

After writing a 1,000 word piece about Winslow Homer's eighteen month stay at an English fishing village, I'm writing a series of primers about other artists who made similar journeys. Paul Gaugun, The Harvest , 1890 Who Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), French painter. Coastal association The coast of Brittany in western France, specifically in and around Pont Aven. First coastal visit Around 1885. Though note that this is just the date of Gauguin's first visit to Brittany. He actually had a lifelong association with the sea, having been born and raised in Peru, and spending time as a sailor on a merchant ship when young. And then, of course, spending his last years on an island in the South Pacific. Reasons for visiting From an 1888 letter: "I love Brittany. I find a certain wildness and primitiveness here. When my clogs resound on this granite soil, I hear the dull, matt, powerful tone I seek in my painting." Dates visited 1885 to 1895. Effe...

After writing a 1,000 word piece about  Winslow Homer's  eighteen month stay at an English fishing village, I'm writing a series of primers about other artists who made similar journeys. Edouard Manet, The Escape of Rochefort , oil on canvas, 1881 Who Edouard Manet (1832-1883), French painter. Coastal association The Normandy coast north of Paris. First coastal visit In 1848, when he was sixteen years old, his father made the first of several failed attempts to get young Edouard into the navy, packing him off on a merchant vessel sailing to Rio di Janeiro. Manet: “I learned a lot on my voyage to Brazil. I spent countless nights watching the play of light and shadow in the ship’s wake. During the day, I stood on the upper deck gazing at the horizon. That’s how I learned to construct a sky." Reasons for visiting Similar to many other of his near contemporaries, Manet first began regularly visiting towns such as Boulogne and Trouville for family vacations...

After writing a 1,000 word piece about  Winslow Homer's  eighteen month stay at an English fishing village, I'm writing a series of primers about other artists who made similar journeys. John Marin, Headland, Cape Spit, Maine , 1933, watercolour and chalk Who John Marin (1870-1953), American painter. Coastal association Maine, in northern New England: first at Phippsburg, then Stonington, and finally bought a home in Cape Split. First coastal visit The coast of Maine in 1914. Reasons for visiting Like his near contemporary Marsden Hartley, he loved Maine because it was so remote from the art world that he felt he could make the subject matter his own. Marin also hated New York City in particular, and felt very much drawn to the tradition of artists finding 'truth in nature.' He also wrote: "Seems to me the true artist must perforce go from time to time to the elemental big forms To sort of retrue himself up to recharge the battery. For thes...

After writing a 1,000 word piece about  Winslow Homer's  eighteen month stay at an English fishing village, I'm writing a series of primers about other artists who made similar journeys. J.M.W. Turner, Margate , c. 1822, watercolour Who J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), English painter. Coastal association Where to start? Water and oceans were his chief inspiration, comprising the central or supporting subject of many of the 20,000+ paintings and drawings he created over a long life. But mostly he painted the waters around the English coast, either directly in his sketchbook, or in his studio-produced oil paintings. First coastal visit 1786, Margate, on the north-east coast of Kent, when he was 11 years old. Reasons for visiting Many reasons, both personal and artistic, that interlock in complex ways. His earliest visits were because his parents packed him off from London to spend the summer with an uncle. During his apprenticeship as an artist, he was influence...