Henry Pether Art

‘The River Thames by Moonlight’ by Henry Pether (1800-1880). The painting which depicts an extensive nocturnal view of London from the Temple to St Paul’s Cathedral and Blackfriars B...

‘The River Thames by Moonlight’ by Henry Pether (1800-1880). The painting which depicts an extensive nocturnal view of London from the Temple to St Paul’s Cathedral and Blackfriars B...

Henry Pether (Flourished 1828 - 1865) Windsor Nocturne Oil on canvas, signed lower right Image size: 30 x 50 inches Gilt frame The strong diagonal of the river leads the eye far into the distance, to where the clouds are silvered by the moon. Henry Pether captures the numinous moment when the heavens fade from blue to midnight blue and clouds acquire an almost sculptural solidity. The moonlight is shining on the buildings, defining the whole range of the castle. The artist recreates the experience of objects coming into focus as the viewer’s eyes become accustomed to the twilight. After gazing for a few moments, we are made aware of the complexity of the foreground scene: a man gazing at the approaching man with horses. Pether employs a very subtle range of colours, from the icy blue of the deep heavens, to a rich range of browns, to the silver-gilt of the moonlight, to evoke a peaceful spring night. This painting can be compared to the similar work, of much the same size and date, in Anglesey Abbey. Here, Pether uses a personal technique, covering his canvas with blue before using a camera obscura to obtain exact shapes and perspective directly from real life. Pether was supremely competent in the technique of representing moonlight shining through cloud by the use of soft glazes over patches of dense paint. Henry Pether was an English landscape painter, the son of Abraham Pether (1756-1812) and brother of Sebastian Pether...