A Graduate of Pomona
Samuel Prout (English. 1783-1852), Beauvais Cathedral
Beauvais Cathedral
Watercolor
20 X 14 in.
This fine watercolor by one of the great English painters of topography, shows the Cathedral of Beauvais, France, being used almost a backdrop behind one of Prout's typical figure filled streets. Prout was one of the first, if not the very first, English artists to travel to the Continent after the fall of Napoleon. In the course of several trips, Prout assembled a group of reference drawings, which largely depicted the architectural wonders of France, Belguim, Germany, and Italy. The artist used this source material over the rest of his life to paint many different but often similar views of several of the most popular tourist sites in Europe.
Prout faced some unusual challenges in painting Beauvais Cathedral, the last to be built of the great gothic edifices of France. Its builders had intended it to erect the highest nave which medeival architects had achieved up until the time it was begun. The only problem was that, when the cathedral was close to completion, the entire nave collapsed, showing the patrons and builders who wanted to push gothic elevations to the maximum height possible that they had already exceeded that limit, and, most likely, that they had offended God by their obvious pride and vanity. There was no attempt to rebuild the nave, and the west facade of the Cathedral was placed against the transept, which, along with the choir, had survived the great collpse.
But the result of all these changes in the original plan was a Cathedral which was very tall but had too little lateral structure to have a blanced overall appearace, especially when viewd toward the west entrance. Prout undoubtedly realized that any watercolor he painted which showed the west facade would not likely be terribly appealing to a customer whose notions of how Cathedrals should appear did not conform to what is actually seen in Beauvais. Prout solved his pictoral challenge by painting the south side of the cathedral as it is seen towering over a side street of the town. The viewer assumes that he is seeing the main, west, entrance rather than the seconday entrance on the south. By chosing an angle which results in the buildings on the left of the composition cutting off most of what would otherwise be seen of the the truncated nave extending to the left, Prout managed to create a more conventional image of the uniquely proportioned cathedral at Beauvais.
Samuel Prout typically made many variant views of the sites he painted, but, based on the surviving records of the Society of Painters in Water-Colours, it appears that he painted relatively few watercolors of Beauvais Cathedral. While the artist exhibited more watercolors depicting the romanesque church at Beauvais, St. Etienne, only two exhibited works could have shown the cathedral, No. 228, Beauvais, in 1831, which sold for 18 guineas, and No. 190, Cathedral of Beauvais, in 1849, which sold for 10 guineas. It is very unlikely that this watercolor was the one exhibited in 1831, since Prout charged 18 guineas for watercolors that were approximately 28 X 18 inches at that time, i.e., the price indicates that the painting was larger than this example. The 10 guineas charged for the 1849 watercolor is in line for the size of this painting. Interestingly, that picture was originally purchased by Charles Dickens, presumably the great writer, who is known to have purchased a watercolor by William Henry Hunt at around the same time. But Prout sold watercolors which were never exhibited, and there is an engraving from 1834 of a work by Prout which is very close to this watercolor. It is impossible to say that it is the one owned by Dickens.
Most of Prout's watercolors have suffered from significant fading over the years, and one seldom finds one which still retains most of the original color, such as seen here. Another view of Beauvis Cathedral by Prout in lesser, more faded condition, is in the collection of the Whiteworth Institute of the Univesity of Manchester, England.
Samuel Prout (English. 1783-1852), Beauvais Cathedral
Beauvais Cathedral
Watercolor
20 X 14 in.
This fine watercolor by one of the great English painters of topography, shows the Cathedral of Beauvais, France, being used almost a backdrop behind one of Prout's typical figure filled streets. Prout was one of the first, if not the very first, English artists to travel to the Continent after the fall of Napoleon. In the course of several trips, Prout assembled a group of reference drawings, which largely depicted the architectural wonders of France, Belguim, Germany, and Italy. The artist used this source material over the rest of his life to paint many different but often similar views of several of the most popular tourist sites in Europe.
Prout faced some unusual challenges in painting Beauvais Cathedral, the last to be built of the great gothic edifices of France. Its builders had intended it to erect the highest nave which medeival architects had achieved up until the time it was begun. The only problem was that, when the cathedral was close to completion, the entire nave collapsed, showing the patrons and builders who wanted to push gothic elevations to the maximum height possible that they had already exceeded that limit, and, most likely, that they had offended God by their obvious pride and vanity. There was no attempt to rebuild the nave, and the west facade of the Cathedral was placed against the transept, which, along with the choir, had survived the great collpse.
But the result of all these changes in the original plan was a Cathedral which was very tall but had too little lateral structure to have a blanced overall appearace, especially when viewd toward the west entrance. Prout undoubtedly realized that any watercolor he painted which showed the west facade would not likely be terribly appealing to a customer whose notions of how Cathedrals should appear did not conform to what is actually seen in Beauvais. Prout solved his pictoral challenge by painting the south side of the cathedral as it is seen towering over a side street of the town. The viewer assumes that he is seeing the main, west, entrance rather than the seconday entrance on the south. By chosing an angle which results in the buildings on the left of the composition cutting off most of what would otherwise be seen of the the truncated nave extending to the left, Prout managed to create a more conventional image of the uniquely proportioned cathedral at Beauvais.
Samuel Prout typically made many variant views of the sites he painted, but, based on the surviving records of the Society of Painters in Water-Colours, it appears that he painted relatively few watercolors of Beauvais Cathedral. While the artist exhibited more watercolors depicting the romanesque church at Beauvais, St. Etienne, only two exhibited works could have shown the cathedral, No. 228, Beauvais, in 1831, which sold for 18 guineas, and No. 190, Cathedral of Beauvais, in 1849, which sold for 10 guineas. It is very unlikely that this watercolor was the one exhibited in 1831, since Prout charged 18 guineas for watercolors that were approximately 28 X 18 inches at that time, i.e., the price indicates that the painting was larger than this example. The 10 guineas charged for the 1849 watercolor is in line for the size of this painting. Interestingly, that picture was originally purchased by Charles Dickens, presumably the great writer, who is known to have purchased a watercolor by William Henry Hunt at around the same time. But Prout sold watercolors which were never exhibited, and there is an engraving from 1834 of a work by Prout which is very close to this watercolor. It is impossible to say that it is the one owned by Dickens.
Most of Prout's watercolors have suffered from significant fading over the years, and one seldom finds one which still retains most of the original color, such as seen here. Another view of Beauvis Cathedral by Prout in lesser, more faded condition, is in the collection of the Whiteworth Institute of the Univesity of Manchester, England.