GREAT BRITAIN & GERMANY

 

Two of the most memorable types of British drawing in this century were satirical subjects - like those of William Hogarth (1697-1764) and Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) - and portraits - like those of Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) and Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792).   Gainsborough also produced many landscapes, opening the way up for the wilder, romantic scenes of John Constable (1776-1837) and J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) in the early 19th century.  The Scot Robert Adam was one of several artists to sketch classical monuments on the Grand Tour. Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) and Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) - both based in Britain though born in Switzerland - became known for historical, mythological and, in Fuseli’s case, supernatural subjects, although Kauffman was a fine portraitist too.  By the end of the century, the German Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) had begun to produce landscapes in which solitary figures are silhouetted against awe-inspiring backdrops, and the visionary William Blake (1757-1827) was drawing scenes which combined religious and radical politics.

 
Featured
Thomas Rowlandson, The Drunken Nurse, undated, watercolor, pen and black ink, and graphite on moderately thick, moderately textured, cream, laid paper, New Haven, Yale Center for British Art.
Thomas Rowlandson, The Drunken Nurse, undated, watercolor, pen and black ink, and graphite on moderately thick, moderately textured, cream, laid paper, New Haven, Yale Center for British Art.
William Hogarth, The First Stage of Cruelty, ca. 1750, graphite with red chalk on medium, smooth, cream laid paper, New Haven, Yale Center of British Art.
William Hogarth, The First Stage of Cruelty, ca. 1750, graphite with red chalk on medium, smooth, cream laid paper, New Haven, Yale Center of British Art.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Self-Portrait (aged 17), ca. 1740, black and white chalk and stump, on buff laid paper, Private Collection.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Self-Portrait (aged 17), ca. 1740, black and white chalk and stump, on buff laid paper, Private Collection.
Thomas Gainsborough, Landscape with Cows, undated, brown and gray wash with pen and brown ink over graphite or black chalk on cream paper, New Haven, Yale Center for British Art.
Thomas Gainsborough, Landscape with Cows, undated, brown and gray wash with pen and brown ink over graphite or black chalk on cream paper, New Haven, Yale Center for British Art.
Style of Robert Adam, Classical Landscape with Ruins, ca. 1755, brush and gray wash over pen and brown ink and graphite, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Style of Robert Adam, Classical Landscape with Ruins, ca. 1755, brush and gray wash over pen and brown ink and graphite, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Thomas Gainsborough, Portrait of a Young Woman Seated, ca. 1760, black chalk with touches of red wash, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Thomas Gainsborough, Portrait of a Young Woman Seated, ca. 1760, black chalk with touches of red wash, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Henry Fuseli, Moved to Despair, ca. 1778 – 1779, red chalk on sepia wash, Zurich, Kunsthaus.
Henry Fuseli, Moved to Despair, ca. 1778 – 1779, red chalk on sepia wash, Zurich, Kunsthaus.
William Blake, The Last Trumpet (recto), ca. 1780 – 1785, pen and gummed carbon black ink and layered gray ink washes with graphite under drawing, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
William Blake, The Last Trumpet (recto), ca. 1780 – 1785, pen and gummed carbon black ink and layered gray ink washes with graphite under drawing, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Henry Fuseli, Falstaff with Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page (Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 5, Scene 5), 1790, pen and brown ink over faint graphite, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Henry Fuseli, Falstaff with Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page (Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 5, Scene 5), 1790, pen and brown ink over faint graphite, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Angelica Kauffmann, Portrait of Emma Hamilton, 1791, black and white chalk, on gray prepared paper, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Angelica Kauffmann, Portrait of Emma Hamilton, 1791, black and white chalk, on gray prepared paper, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Paul Sandy, Windsor Great Park, ca. 1790–1799, watercolour and gouache, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Paul Sandy, Windsor Great Park, ca. 1790–1799, watercolour and gouache, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Caspar David Friedrich, Trauerszene (recto), 1799, pencil on paper, Mannheim, Kunsthalle Mannheim.
Caspar David Friedrich, Trauerszene (recto), 1799, pencil on paper, Mannheim, Kunsthalle Mannheim.
Angelica Kauffmann, Apollo and the Three Arts, undated, pencil on paper, Private Collection.
Angelica Kauffmann, Apollo and the Three Arts, undated, pencil on paper, Private Collection.
Henry Fuseli, Kriemhild shows Gunther the Nibelungen Ring, 1807, watercolour on card, Zurich, Kunsthaus.
Henry Fuseli, Kriemhild shows Gunther the Nibelungen Ring, 1807, watercolour on card, Zurich, Kunsthaus.

Noël Annesley, Honorary Chairman, Christie’s.