Richard Parkes Bonington 1801-1828

It has been traditionally thought that this watercolour may represent a scene at Boulogne and it can therefore be dated between 1817 and 1819. 

The Bonington family moved from Nottingham to Calais in 1817, when Richard was just fifteen, to set up a lace-making business.  Calais was just twenty seven miles north east of Boulogne and travel at the time was still very cheap in France.  In Calais, Bonington received his first professional instruction in watercolour painting from Louis Francia (1789-1817), thus absorbing the influence of Thomas Girtin.  Although the young artist was only with Francia for six months, his talent blossomed quickly.  By 1819 the family had moved to Paris and Bonington's watercolours were bringing in a small but steady income.