Victorian Watercolours

by Christopher Newall

- The first general introduction to a popular medium in the Victorian era - the preferred form of expression for many artists
- Features full-colour masterworks by such major figures as Ruskin, Burne-Jones and Rossetti, along with many lesser-known but respected talents
- Analyses both the subject matter and the artists"--stylistic developments
- A valuable addition to the scholarship on Victorian art

Genres: Art

128 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1988

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book offers a brief review of Victorian Watercolor painting, which was arguably the golden age of watercolors. The presentation combines historical narration reviewing the gradual change in focus and style and some introduction to watercolor artists. The introduction is given "in context", i.e., if there is something to say about an artist that is relevant to the review of a specific aspect associated with the current stage (to which each chapter is devoted) the author spends about a paragraph for this artist referring to his/her color plate. As a result, there is just a bit about each artist with little details, but it allows to cover a lot of artists. In total, the book has 99 excellent color plates and, as a rule, only one per artist. The image is frequently the most well-known or most representative for this artist, but not always. Altogether, it makes an excellent overview of the subject to learn and a nice collection of excellent color plates to review as a coffee table book. Yet, due to rather low coverage of every artist, it could be considered more as an extension of a more extensive book on Victorian art such as Wood or Lambourne.

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short tour of the many styles of painting in watercolors during the Victorian Era. Most of the painters displayed were heavily influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and hence the majority of works covered fall into that style. Toward the end you get to see some works from the Idyllists and the Aesthetic Movement. There are 99 plates varying in size but most are nearly full page. I have never been to in to watercolors but many of these are on par with oils and slowly but surely I think I am coming around and appreciating them much more now. There are alot of landscapes in here which I have an off and on attitude towards, but towards the end they have some garden paintings and they were fantastic, even giving me some ideas for my own garden. Definitely a keeper in my collection.

[Susan]

One of my favorite art books. I return to it again and again for new inspiration. A strong catalog of top notch artworks by the cream of Victorian painters. Many of the watercolors can not be found in any other art book which makes this a valuable resource for research. The plates are clean and crisp with strong color. The pages are made of quality paper, so no bleeding or fading. I highly recommend.