Who painted this? #64

I was very glad to find there are still people out there who remember Who Painted This?" and hopefully this will now become a Sunday morning challenge for the visual memory and brain cells!

The answer to  #63 is below this week's challenge along with the names of who got it right. There were three 'entries' and every one of them got it right - but there was also a very clear "best answer".

But first this week's art history challenge.....

Who painted this? #64

The first time I saw this painting I was absolutely bowled over by it. Some of you may also have seen it - but can you remember where and when?

If you think about it, you've got a number of clues as to:

• time period
• location
• artist.

     

How to participate in "Who painted this? #64

Don't forget - there are rules to how "Who painted this?" works - and these are detailed in THE RULES for participating in this challenge.

This is about using brains not technology - so please do NOT "cheat". 

Briefly, in your comment ON THIS POST you must tell me ALL of the following:

• the title of the artwork
• the name of the artist who created this artwork
• the date it was created
• the media used
• where it lives now
• how you know all this eg how did you do your search
• anything else you can find out about the artwork and/or artist

The Winner is the first identifiable person (i.e. no anonymous guesses) who, in my judgement, is the first person to get to the answer by fair means AND provides the best quality answer in terms of added details about the artwork and artist

Remember also

• no use of Google image search or Tineye to find the image allowed - this is a traditional web search of images using words only plus "hit the books" time
• I don't publish the comments until next week's post.

i.e. comments are being opened up again - but ONLY for this weekly post and comments on this blog post will only be published once a week - on the following Sunday.

NOTE: You can find out more about the background to "who painted this?" and the RULES on this page https://makingamark.blogspot.com/p/who-painted-this.html

Who painted this? #63

Title of the artwork: Mont St. Michel
Name of the artist who created this artwork:  John Sell Cotman (1782-1842)
Date it was created: between 1818 and 1830
Media used: Watercolour, over graphite
Where it lives now: British Museum and various other places e.g. Harrow School

Cotman visited Normandy several times and Mont St Michel is apparently one of the places he made a point of visiting on every trip.

The "give aways" in this painting are 

• the colours used in the palette (which for me, on their own, spell 'Cotman'),  
• the very precise architecture - always a key characteristic of Cotman's work and 
• the general style of painting.

The potential stumbling block is that there are a number of versions of this painting. Mine came from the one I saw at the exhibition of John Sell Cotman's drawings and paintings at Dulwich Gallery in 2012 - see Review: Cotman in Normandy - at Dulwich Picture Gallery. This version was lent by Harrow School - but you can also see a very good example in the British Museum.

I wasn't picky as to which location people said it could be found in.

Who guessed correct?

The first person to get it correct was "Loza" who provided a model answer

The watercolour painting 'Mont St Michel' was painted by John Sell Cotman in 1828. John Sell Cotman is father of John Josef Cotman - both noteworthy artists. The painting, Mont St Michel is one of many version of Mont St Michel in France. This version is housed in the collection of Manchester Art Gallery. Cotman was born in 1782 here in Norwich and died in 1842. He was a member of the Norwich school of Painters. He turned down the opportunity to continue in the family business (silk merchants and lace dealers) and headed to London to develop as an artist. Here he made friends with artists such as Turner, and Girtin and joined their sketching club, travelling and painting with them in Surrey and Wales.

Cotman maintained close links with Norfolk and although his works were not highly rated during his lifetime and earned him little money, since his death, wealthy benefactors such as the Colman's of Mustard fame bought many of his archaelogical drawings and etchings, and sketches and paintings of rural scenes and marine landscapes. Colman donated his vast collection to the Norwich Castle Museum where a permanent exhibition space is dedicated to his works and are well worth a visit to see. Like Turner, John Sell Cotman is now considered in the highest esteem for his sensitive draughtsmanship and as a natural colourist. NB. Cotman painted in oils up and until 1822 when he returned to painting in watercolours inspired by JWM Turner. Cotman loved his native Norfolk and was keen to paint the archeology, landscapes, seascapes and people of northern France to show how what Norfolk had in common with the French region.

Others who got the correct answer were:

• Sue Smith
• Theresa

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Who Painted This? was a regular weekly challenge on Making A Mark, usually posted on Friday. This page contains:

• the rules for how to participate in "Who painted this?"
• how to enter (via a comment on the blog post)
• what happens to comments
• a list of the Who painted this? in order so that you or you friends can participate in the challenge even after the result has been published