Richard Parkes Bonington

Probably Lewis Brown (d. 1836);
his sale, Paris, 17-18 April 1837, lot 36 or 48;
Ferdinand-Victor-Amedée, Comte de Faucigny-Lucinge (1789-1866);
possibly Léopold Fleming;
Jules Michelin,
his sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 21-23 April 1898, lot 257;
sale, Paris, Georges Petit, 16-19 June 1919, lot 54;
with Percy Moore Turner (1877-1950);
A.C. Hampson;
sale, London, Christie's, 18 March 1980, lot 84, bt. Reed;
with Anthony Reed, London;
Private Collection, London, by 1982;
with Anthony Reed, London,
where acquired in 1989

New York, Davis & Langdale Company, Inc., British Watercolors, Oil Sketches and Sculpture, 1989, no. 26;
New Haven, Yale Center for British Art; Paris, Petit Palais, On the Pleasure of Painting, 1991-92, no. 27

A. Dubuisson and C.E. Hughes, Richard Parkes Bonington: His Life and Work, London 1924, p. 199;
The Hon. A. Shirley, Bonington, London 1940, p. 95, no. 146 (as Mantes);
P. Noon, Richard Parkes Bonington, The Complete Paintings, New Haven 2008, p. 147, no. 91

Window mounted on a modern card mount. There is a very narrow band of slight discoloration to the four edges, probably as a result of an old mount. The sheet is in otherwise very fine condition, with the medium fresh and vibrant throughout. Sold in a modern giltwood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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This watercolor depicts a distant view of St. Omer, Normandy from the south-east. To the right of the Boulogne-Calais road, two travellers can be seen resting while, a little way off, a horse and cart trundles over the rutted route. The horizon is dominated by the ruins of the Abbey of St. Bertin, the Basilique Notre-Dame and the Eglise St-Denis. The work can be dated to circa 1823-1824, a time when Bonington was often in Normandy, exploring its coastline and interior. The work is executed in sepia washes, a medium which, in the 1820s, was very popular amongst French collectors. It shows Bonington’s confident handling of watercolor, particularly in the sky, where his use of the ‘wet-on-wet’ technique allows him to convey perfectly the atmospheric effects of the weather. In the Tate Britain, London, there is an oil painting by Bonington of St.Omer.¹ It shows the town from the same viewpoint but with a different composition in the foreground. Patrick Noon has suggested that although there is a connection between this oil and the present watercolor, both were conceived as finished, presentation, works.

The first owner of this sheet was probably Lewis Brown, a 'Bordeaux wine merchant of British nationality… who amassed a large collection of Bonington’s watercolours in the 1820s'.² Another important early owner was Le Comte de Faucigny. He was a member of a Swiss banking family who played an important role in the restoration of the Bourbons to the French throne. In 1824 he married the illegitimate daughter of the Duc de Berry and the English actress Amy Brown, however in 1830, he was forced to flee to England after the July revolution. He owned a number of works by Bonington including the watercolor Fishing Boats Aground (New Haven, Yale Center for British Art) and the oil Coastal Landscape (Location unknown).<sup>3

1.</sup> P. Noon, Richard Parkes Bonington ‘On the Pleasure of Painting,' New Haven 1992, p. 112, no. 26

^2. P. Noon, Richard Parkes Bonington, the complete paintings, New Haven 2008, p. 88

^3. Ibid., nos. 92 and 182