Richard Parkes Bonington: 'On the Pleasures of Painting' - Hardcover

Patrick Noon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300051085 ISBN 13: 9780300051087

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1991

Synopsis

Richard Parkes Bonington (1802-1828) was prehaps the most important British landscape painter of his era after Turner and Constable. Although his career spanned less than 10 years, his dazzling virtuosity propelled him immediately to the forefront of the Romantic movement in both France and England. Even after his early death his art continued to influence decades of French artists and critics, most notably Delacroix, Corot and Baudelaire. This illustrated book is a study of Bonington and also a comprehensive survey of his works. In the first half of the book, Patrick Noon discusses Bonington's life and work, focusing on the important role he played in the international romantic movement, defining the unique attributes and development of his style, and offering an interpretive analysis of his art. This section is illustrated with over 60 works by Bonington, by the old masters he admired, and by many of his contemporaries. The second half of the book consists of colour reproductions of 140 of Bonington's paintings, water-colours and prints as well as 25 works by French and English artists with whom he was most closely associated. The works of art are accompanied by discussions of chronology, attribution, dossible influence and meaning.

About this title

From Library Journal:

The publication of this monograph, based on a first-ever American exhibition, at last does justice to the achievements of one of Britain's greatest painters. Many authorities have claimed that, had Bonington (1802-28) not died at a tragically early age, he would have surpassed even J.M.W. Turner. There is evidence that Turner himself believed this as well. Bonington produced technically brilliant landscape and genre paintings; his vivid use of color had a great impact on the next several generations of artists in both England and France. Noon's text is a thorough, scholarly examination of a short but rich career. The illustrations do more than illuminate Bonington's oeuvre--the watercolors in particular are reproduced with their natural luminosity intact. This book has a clear place in academic libraries and specialized collections serving British art.
- Paula A. Baxter, NYPL
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0300051085
• ISBN 13: 9780300051087
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 315