GASTINEAU, HENRI (1791-1876)

“Rye” (c.1820)
Watercolour & bodycolour
39 x 54cm
Signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Gastineau RA RWS was an acclaimed British Watercolourist. He trained as an engraver and topographer at the Royal Academy in London, before travelling extensively throughout the UK & Europe painting the beauty & decay of the 19th century landscape. He had a penchant for depicting the old ruins of churches & buildings that scattered the countryside, & his works were frequently utilized in travel volumes of the time. He exhibited for 58 straight years at the Royal Watercolour Society, & he was the oldest serving member at the time of his death. A close friend & contemporary of John Constable and JMW Turner, he often joined the latter on painting excursions across the UK, and I have found several examples of common vistas which would have been painted concurrently . His work is commonplace at major institutions in the UK & abroad, including the British Museum, Tate Britain, National Gallery of Ireland & Te Papa NZ!! This work is a great example of Gothic Art of the Georgian era, depicting what is known as "The Sublime"; wild, untamed nature evoking awe & dread. There is unquestionable influence of Turner, & this piece was most likely exhibited at the Royal Academy. During the Gothic Revival of the Georgian/Victorian era (post Industrial Revolution), artists, designers, writers and architects were inspired by the Gothic Age of the Middle Ages, which had been out of fashion for centuries. The result was a fascinating reinvention of the genre; a dark, macabre view of the human condition & presence (& recognition) of an impending afterlife.