Thomas Medcalf

Thomas Medcalf, Upland Landscape With Track, Watercolour

1898

This late 19th-century gouache by British artist Joseph Knight (1837-1909) depicts a gentle moorland landscape with cattle. Knight was primarily known for his naturalistic depictions of North Wales. Raised amid the hurried industrious streets of Chorlton-Upon-Medlock in Manchester, Knight was obliged to pursue a career at one of its many cotton mills. His father, also Joseph Knight, was a mill engineer and would’ve expected his son to follow suit. It appears he was sent to work at the age of four - unthinkable today, but not uncommon in the 1840s. In around 1841, Knight was involved in an accident, which resulted in the loss of his right arm. This probably coincided with him being sent, together with his siblings, to stay with relatives, Thomas and Jane Knight, also of Chorlton. Evidently, following this, he undertook a change of direction, taking the first steps on a path to artistry. During the mid to late 19th century, landscape paintings grew in popularity partly due to the desires of a new middle-class buyer but also as a tonic for increasing urbanisation. And perhaps there’s no better example of an artist who understood the restorative qualities of nature than Joseph Knight. In his early teens, he gained employment at a photography studio, primarily assisting with portraiture. With a keen eye for composition, his skills flourished and were met with much approval from staff and customers alike. It was here that he first met with Mr. Henry Crowley who was so taken by the boy’s aptitude that he encouraged him to seek a career as a painter. Crowley funded his education, enrolling him at the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, where the emphasis was on honing one’s draughtsmanship in a strict environment via diligent study and life drawing. With his technique now evolved, commissions were forthcoming - both as a painter and photographer. In the 1861 census, now married, he records his occupation as ‘Photographic artist and painter in oil’. It’s plausible that he was involved in adding tints to photographic portraits during this period while also working as a painter. As recognition of his development, in 1868, he was elected as a full member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, and a year later debuted at London’s Royal Academy with ‘Evening, Near Quimper, Brittany’ and ‘Breton Peasants’. It was around this time that he came to the attention of several of his younger contemporaries who viewed his naturalistic approach as altogether fresher and entirely modern. In a quiet rebellion against their formulaic training, they undertook to paint directly from nature, ‘en plein air’, without the rigour of academic constraints. The group, which included Joshua Anderson Hague...

This charming mid-19th-century watercolour by British artist Thomas Sidney Cooper RA (1803-1902) depicts two sheep and a cow in a landscape. Cooper was a distinguished British painte...

This fine late 20th-century watercolour by British artist Edward A Swan (b.1935) depicts two sailboats buffeted by turbulent conditions. Beyond, the hazy form of a frigate under full...

This fine early 19th-century watercolour by British artist Amos Green (1735-1807) depicts an asperous gorge near Ingleton in Yorkshire. On either side of a shallow river, trees clin...

Gouache of a Shipwreck in a Storm with Gothic Ruins, Early 19th Century Technique: Gouache on paper Period: Early 19th century Description: This romantic painting depicts a dramatic ...

Southern Landscape with View of a Castle and Ships passing by Pen and brush in brown and black over pencil, brown and grey wash, 17,5 x 22,7cm Plain black moulding with golden pearl ...

Dutch Watercolour classical building portrait by Tineke Goedhart. The painting is signed and dated bottom left and resigned, dated and located on t...

This very modern drawing presents a view of Ariccia, a small town 25 kilometres south-east of Rome. The Palazzo Chigi (in which the film-maker Luchino Visconti would film a large part of The Leopard a century later) and the adjoining church are seen from the bottom of the ravine that surrounds the town. This drawing is a moving testimony to the attraction of the city for artists of the Romantic period, who established in Ariccia a vivid artists' colony. 1. Achille Bénouville...