Below Langley (Norfolk) by John Sell Cotman (1782-1842). Lithograph from an original drawing of 19 October 1841. Height: 265 mm. x Width: 365 mmm. Collection: The British Museum, registration no. 1863,0418.201. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
The original sketch, in an "arched composition with three windmills and flock of birds in wind-swept landscape" ("Drawing"). 1841 Black chalk, touched with white, on grey paper. Height: 186 mm. x 317 mm. Collection: The British Museum, registration no. 1902,0514.145. © The Trustees of the British Museum. Image downloaded, caption material and comment below added, and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Laurence Binyon writes so appositely: "The listless wetness of the beaten branches, the drooping sedges, the empty sky, the blowing wind; how keenly is it all brought to the senses, as with the keenness of physical contact" (96). The lithograph sharpens and dramatises the scene, removing the two windmills on the right and interposing the boat. This last, in particular, changes its atmosphere, making it more active, and altering the presentation of the passively windswept scene. This original sketch shows why Binyon says elsewhere, of Cotman at this time, "He works now with the aim which was habitual to David Cox (96).
Bibliography
Binyon, Laurence. John Crome and John Sell Cotman. London: Seeley & Co./New York: Macmillan, 1897. Internet Archive. Contributed by the University of Michigan. Web. 3 March 2022.
Created 5 March 2022