Peter De Wint (1784-1849) - Cattle watering by a river
A compositional theme that De Wint returned to on many occassions was cattle watering by a stream or river. Our example is in superb condition and shows De Wint's skill at displaying different tints and also his scratching out technique for the river, cattle and trees to further highlight areas of white. The artist has used trees and clouds help to show the effect of wind, with the tree on the right being strongly bent and appearing to sway in the breeze. David Cox was also adept at portraying the elements.
Lastly, the darker shade of blue for the horizon seen in our picture was a technique many artists employed, with De Wint often using it for his larger landscape compositions.
Medium: watercolour on paper, 25.5 x 36.5 cm, framed.
Provenance: Halls Fine Art Auctioneers, Fine Art Sale 11/8/06, lot 281 (label verso); Private collection, England.
Condition report: in excellent condition. The frame has a few loses to its moulding.