Friday 18 March 2022

Richard Parkes Bonington - part 5

Self-Portrait
Private Collection

Born of English parents, Bonington spent much of his short life in France. He studied initially in Calais with Louis Francia before moving to Paris. In 1818 he first met Eugène Delacroix and enrolled in the atelier of Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, where he formed a lasting friendship with Paul Huet, a fellow pupil.

He was one of the stars of the 1824 Paris Salon, where British art was so triumphant, and along with John Constable and Copley Fielding received a gold medal.

Bonington was an inveterate traveller and spent much time exploring the north coast of France. In 1825 he visited London with several French artists, including Delacroix, and in 1826 he travelled through Switzerland to Venice.

He died tragically young from consumption at the age of 26.

Bonington was one of the most important artists of the early nineteenth century, vital to the understanding of French and British art of the Romantic period. His range included history and subject paintings, and landscapes, highly-finished works and sketches, all imbued with a brilliance and sureness of touch which was greatly admired both during and after his lifetime.

For more detailed biographical notes see part 1. For earlier works, see parts 1 - 4 also.

This is part 5 of a 6-part series on the works of Richard Parkes Bonington:


1826 The Interior of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan
oil on millboard 34.9 x 42.8 cm
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX

1827 The Interior of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan
pencil, watercolour and body-colour with gum varnish on paper
Wallace Collection, London

c1827 The Interior of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan
oil on paper 17 x 21 cm

c1827-28 Quentin Durward at Liège, Belgium
oil on canvas 63 x 51.5 cm
Nottingham City Museums & Galleries, UK

c1827-28 Study of a young Woman
brush and pen and brown ink over pencil 11.3 x 10.5 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

c1827-28 Study of a young Woman
brush and pen and brown ink over pencil 17.6 x 11.5 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

c1827 Amy Robsart and the Earl of Leicester
oil on canvas 35 x 27 cm
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford

c1827 Castello Estense, Ferrara
watercolour over pencil heightened with body-colour and gum arabic on paper

c1827 Child at Prayer
oil on millboard 35.9 x 27.9 cm
The Wallace Collection, London

c1827 Equestrian statue of Colleoni
watercolour heightened with white gouache, gum arabic, details in pen and brown ink 23.2 x 17.5 cm
 Louvre, Paris

c1827 Henri IV and the Spanish Ambassador
oil on canvas 38.4 x 52.4 cm
The Wallace Collection, London

c1827 Ruins of an Archway
graphite with white gouache on grey wove paper
 14.8 x 12.3 cm
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

c1827 The Antiquary
watercolour and body-colour with gum varnish on paper 20.7 x 16 cm
The Wallace Collection, London

1828 Corso Sant'Anastasia, Verona
oil on millboard 65.1 x 44.1 cm
Yale Centre for British Art

1828 Doune Castle, after François Alexandre Pernot
lithograph 16.5 x 23.2 cm (image)
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1828 Henri III
oil on canvas 54 x 64.4 cm
The Wallace Collection, London

1828 Manor House, rue Sainte-Véronique in Beauvais
pencil, watercolour and gouache 18.2 x 12.2 cm
Louvre, Paris

1828 Sketch of a Woman
pen and brown ink on wove paper 14 x 9.5 cm 
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

1828 The Undercliff
watercolour and sepia on paper 13 x 19 cm
Nottingham Castle, UK

c1828 A Venetian Scene
pencil, watercolour and body-colour with gum varnish on paper 18 x 24.9 cm
The Wallace Collection, London

1829 La Siesta (after Bonington)
lithograph by J.D. Harding
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1829 Maternal Solicitude (after Bonington)
lithograph by J.D. Harding
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1829 The African Daughter. (after Bonington)
engraving by Sangster
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1829 The Visit to the Shrine
lithograph (after Bonington) by unknown
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1830 Pont Royale, Paris (after Boningtaon)
lithograph by J.D. Harding
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1830 The Intruder (after Bonington)
engraving by unknown
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1831 Untitled (after Bonington)
engraving by W.H. Watt
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

c1850 Road to Caen (after Bonington)
lithograph on chine collé bu Jules Laurens 16.1 x 21.8 cm (image)
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1868 Marine, calm Weather (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

1868 Portrait of a Man (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1868 The Calvary(after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1868 The Hay Harvest (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1869 Christ of the Reeds (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1870 A Lord and a Child (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1870 The Barber, Monkey Scene (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1870 The Dentist, Monkey Scene (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1872 Arab Horseman attacked by a Lion (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1872 Bouquet d'Arbres près d'un cours d'eau "Clump of Trees near a Stream" (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

1872c Effet de Nuit "Night Effect" (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1872 Le Cabaret (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

c1873 Vue de Pont-de-l'Arche (after Bonington)
etching by Félix Bracquemond
The New York Public Library

1885 French Coast Scene (after Bonington)
etching and aquatint by Frank Short 8 x 14.8 cm (image)
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

1888 Rouen (after Bonington)
etching by Frank Short 23.7 x 16 cm (image)
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia

n.d. A Faun with Pipes
black chalk and rubbing on medium, cream, moderately textured laid paper 58.1 x 38.1 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

n.d. A sailing-vessel and a rowing-boat in rough seas off Beachy Head
\sketch and wash 19.7 x 14.8 cm
V&A, London

n.d. A Seascape
brown wash on medium, cream, smooth wove paper
 9.8 x 15.2 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

n.d. A Wooded Stream and a Farmhouse in Normandy
graphite on medium, brown, rough wove paper 20 x 26.7 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

n.d. Abbeville - Vue Pris, de la route de Calais
lithograph 15.3 x 20.3 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund

n.d. Abbey St-Amand, Rouen
watercolour, gouache and graphite on medium, cream, slightly textured, wove paper 19.1 x 12.7 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund

n.d. Beauvais - interieur d'une cour
lithograph 55.9 x 40.6 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund

n.d. Bothwell Castle
lithograph
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

n.d. Caen - Maison Grande Rue Saint-Pierre
lithograph 29.3 x 22.3 cm
Yale Centre for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund

n.d. Canton of Berne
pencil on cream wove paper 17 x 10 cm 
© Royal Academy of Arts, London