Description
Cotman described the Abbey of St. Ouen as “the best subject I ever touched upon.” He visited Rouen in 1817, 1818 and 1820, returning to Norwich from Yarmouth in the latter year to produce an etched series, "Architectural Antiquities of Normandy" (published 1822). Seeking to re-establish his reputation in East Anglia, he also began to exhibit extraordinary highly worked watercolors of Normandy subjects, including a version of the present composition. Cotman never actually saw this abbey but derived his image from a large engraving in Jean François Pommeraye's "Histoire de l’Abbaye de St. Ouen" (1662), a book owned by his patron the banker and antiquary Dawson Turner. The artist's deep engagement with the subject led him to produce four versions of the composition, one in the Norwich Castle Museum, another in the Denver Art Museum, and two in private collections; Cotman's authorship of a fifth work at the Victoria and Albert Museum has been questioned. The Metropolitan Museum watercolor comes late in the sequence. It reverses Pommeraye’s 1662 engraving and takes romantic liberties with the subject, transforming an enclosed courtyard into a garden façade, and altering the perspective to include a church tower. Decorative embellishments have been added to the stonework, and the picturesque body of water at left is unique to this version, combined with the "The Dancing Faun" statue to imply a parkland setting. Colorful troubadour elements in the foreground nod to precedents by Richard Parkes Bonington. Medium: graphite and watercolor, heightened with bodycolor and with scratching out.
Image Licence
CC0 1.0
Image Credit
Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts
Location
Church of St. Ouen, Rouen, France
Country
France
Tags
Category
Buildings & Architecture
