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Adolphus Knell19th Century English, Shipping at moonlightCirca 1870
Circa 1870
$3,950
£2,992.98
€3,428.22
CA$5,594.73
A$6,105.15
CHF 3,202.25
MX$74,149.06
NOK 39,997.90
SEK 37,800.01
DKK 25,586.94
About the Item
This evocative marine painting by Adolphus Knell, son of the distinguished marine artist William Adolphus Knell, demonstrates the family’s mastery of atmospheric seascapes. Here, a large sailing vessel dominates the composition, its rigging etched in silhouette against a glowing moonlit sky. Smaller craft cluster nearby, their hulls merging into the darkened waters, while the distant light on the horizon offers a faint yet poetic counterpoint to the central drama of ship and sea.
Knell’s treatment of moonlight on water is particularly striking—the silvered path of light across the surface of the sea guides the eye into the composition and enhances the painting’s sense of depth and quiet grandeur. The restrained palette of greys, blues, and blacks is enlivened by this glowing light, producing a haunting mood that was much admired in Victorian marine painting.
Adolphus Knell was part of a dynasty of painters celebrated for maritime subjects, and his works are sought after for their romantic intensity and atmospheric detail. This example, both intimate in scale and powerful in presence, reflects the continuing fascination with Britain’s seafaring heritage during the 19th century.
Framed in an ornate gilt frame that complements its period character, this painting offers both collectors and admirers of maritime art a fine example of Knell’s ability to capture the quiet drama of ships at rest beneath the moon.
Signed lower right
Framed in a hand made English swept style frame
- Creator:Adolphus Knell (1830 - 1900, British)
- Creation Year:Circa 1870
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 14 in (35.56 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:This painting is in good original condition.
- Gallery Location:Woodbury, CT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU507316925842
Adolphus Knell
Adolphus Knell
British flourished 1890 “Shipping at Dawn and Dusk”
Pair of Oils on panel, signed and framed Adolphus Knell is a member of the famous Knell family who specialised in maritime subjects, a brother to William Callcott Knell and most probably the son of William Adolphus Knell.
Originally a decorator of furniture in Bath, he moved to Bristol where he specialised in small marines in the late nineteenth century.
In these two pictures he uses a strong source of light transfusing the picture from the horizon towards the viewer, a device he often employed – see Plate 98 in Brook Harts “British Nineteenth Century Marine painting”.
His work remains highly collectable; these are two fine examples of his oeuvre.
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- ShippingRetrieving quote...Shipping from: Reigate, United Kingdom
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