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Print - Shadow of small plane falling on the world
  • Shadow of small plane falling on the world
    Eric Ravilious, born 1903 - died 1942
  • Enlarge image

Shadow of small plane falling on the world

  • Object:

    Print

  • Date:

    early 20th century (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Eric Ravilious, born 1903 - died 1942 (artist)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Wood engraving

  • Museum number:

    E.555-1972

  • Gallery location:

    Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C, case EW, shelf 150, box A

  • Image in copyright

The Neo-romantic artist and designer Eric Ravilious, who studied under Paul Nash at the Royal College of Art, was instrumental in bringing about a renaissance in British printmaking in the 1920s and 1930s. This small wood engraving is typical of his lyrical style, which was influenced by early German and Flemish woodcuts and the work of British engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828). In hindsight, the rather menacing subject - the shadow of a plane falling on a hill - seems to foreshadow Ravilious's untimely death. An official war artist from 1939, he died in a flying accident off the coast of Iceland in 1942.

Physical description

A wood engraving showing a small biplane flying over a hill surrounded by deciduous and palm trees; the plane's shadow covers part of the hill.

Date

early 20th century (made)

Artist/maker

Eric Ravilious, born 1903 - died 1942 (artist)

Materials and Techniques

Wood engraving

Marks and inscriptions

'Eric Ravilious'

Dimensions

Height: 92 mm approx., Width: 116 mm approx.

Historical context note

Eric Ravilious was one of the leading Neo-Romantic artists in the 1920s and 1930s. He was instrumental in bringing about a renaissance in British printmaking (particularly wood engraving), producing engravings for the Golden Cockerel, Curwen and Nonesuch presses. In the late 1930s, before becoming an official war artist, he lived in the village of Great Bardfield, Essex, whose residents included fellow neo-Romantics Kenneth Rowntree, Edward Bawden, and Michael Rothenstein.

Descriptive line

Print, 'Shadow of small plane falling on the world', by Eric Ravilious

Materials

Paper; Printing ink; Wood engraving block

Techniques

Wood engraving

Subjects depicted

Aeroplanes; Shadows

Categories

Prints

Collection code

PDP

Qr_O123853
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