The Great Age of British Watercolours 1750-1880

This beautiful volume documents an important moment in the history of the watercolour, as its practitioners moved from the tinted drawings to the creation of fully fledged works of art that rivaled oil paintings in their expressiveness and technical brilliance. With its rolling hills, cloud-laden skies and ever-shifting light, Britain was the perfect setting for such a revolution, as artists packed sketchbooks, brushes and paints, and headed for the countryside. Authors Wilton and Lyles document the evolution of the British watercolour, from the more classically inspired eighteenth-century landscapes to the vivid experiments in Naturalism and Romanticism, with their concomitant studies in light and atmosphere. Over 300 exquisite reproductions allow readers to appreciate the delicate colours and fine lines of these important works, while the authors’ authoritative and eminently readable texts enhance the overall experience of witnessing the birth of an independent medium, and some of the most breathtaking examples of watercolours the world has ever known.