Description
An original 1850s watercolour painting, F. Devis, Lower Grindelwald Glacier, Switzerland. A loosely painted watercolour capturing the dramatic glacial landscape of the Swiss Alps in the mid-19th century. The painting is a notable record the volume of ice present at Lower Grindelwald Glacier around the 1850s, which has now significantly reducedstark evidence of the devastating effects of climate change. This picture is one of an atmospheric collection of watercolours that we have for sale depicting the landscapes of the Swiss Lakes & Austrian Danube between 1855 & 1869. The artist, F. Devis, of unknown identity, was clearly working in the footsteps of 19th-century artists for whom these romantic landscapesof awe-inspiring mountains & pristine waterswere a draw. The vistas are wide, horizons are expansive & diminutive towns nestle at the water's edge, affording a sense of the majestic scale of nature. Our artist observes views at different times of day & varying weather, capturing the effects of transient cloud cover & fading light on the mountain tops. Switzerland in particular was a place of pilgrimage for poets & painters from all over Europe throughout the late 18th & early 19th centuries, with Lord Byron declaring it 'the most Romantic region in the world'. Our traveller sketches from the vantage points of hotel terraces & lakeside lodgings, which provided the opportunity to paint the convergence of water, gorge, castle & bridge. Not least amongst these lodgings was the Hotel Byron itself, at Villeneuve on Lake Geneva, which opened in 1841, in reference to Byron's pivotal stay on the Lake with Percy & Mary Shelley, where the beginnings of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein were penned. For our artist, & other similar tourists, a stay at Hotel Byron meant not only witnessing the same views as their great Romantic contemporaries, but also somehow sharing in their story. Views in Switzerland include the Lakes of Lucerne & Geneva, Mount Pilatus & the Giessbach Falls; views in Austria include the Castles of Greinburg & Persenbeug on the Danube, Lake Wolfgang & the Bridge of Linz amongst others. Some age toning as shown, with more visible marks on the verso of the paper. There is a soft crease running across the paper above centre. There is a short repaired tear to the lower left edge & a tiny wormhole at the centre-left edge. Please see photos for detail. F. Devis, Lower Grindelwald Glacier, Switzerland - 1850S Watercolour Painting
