A country road leading towards a church

Physical description

A countryside landscape with a path in dense woodland, leading to a church with a spire in the distance. In the foreground a shepherd is resting, his grazing sheep are on the road and bank.

Place of Origin

Shoreham, United Kingdom (painted)

Date

ca.1828 (painted)

Artist/maker

Samuel Palmer, born 1805 - died 1881 (artist)

Materials and Techniques

Watercolour

Marks and inscriptions

'One of numbers done at Shoreham showing the love of vivid contrasts of chiaroscuro.'

Dimensions

Height: 18.4 cm, Width: 15.2 cm

Object history note

This drawing was previously in the collections of A. H. Palmer and Sir Frank Short, R.A., P.R.E., R.I., by whom it was lent to the Samuel Palmer Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1926 (no.82: reproduced on PL.X of the catalogue), and was no. 38 in the exhibition 'Samuel Palmer & His Circle' organised by the Arts Council, 1957. It is no.91 (reproduced as Pl.44) in the catalogue of G Grigson's 'Samuel Palmer. The Visionary Years', London, 1947. Grigson relates it to 'The Magic Apple Tree' in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Descriptive line

'A country road leading towards a church'. Water-colour by Samuel Palmer, England, ca.1828.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Vaughan, William, Elizabeth E. Barker and Colin Harrison, eds. Samuel Palmer 1805-1881: Vision and Landscape. London: The British Museum Press, 2005. 256 p., ill. (chiefly col.). Catalogue of the exhibition held at the British Museum, 12 October 2005 – 22 January 2006. ISBN 0714126411. Catalogue no.36, p.112, illus.
The entry for the catalogue record is as follows:

‘36
A Country Road, Leading towards a
Church, c.1828-30
Brown watercolour, 18.4 x 14.9 cm
(7 1/4 x 5 7/8 in)
Lit: Lister 126
London, Victoria and Albert Museum,
34-1953
This is a particularly bold treatment of
the theme that so obsessed Palmer in the
late 1820s: looking through foliage
towards a church spire. According
to an inscription on the mount by
A.H. Palmer, it is ‘one of numbers done
at Shoreham showing the love of vivid
contrasts of chiaroscuro’. It would seem
that this work was probably executed as
an experimental study. Its freedom of
method can be contrasted with such
elaborate and carefully finished ‘blacks’
as A Church with a Boat and Sheep (cat. 73),
which are presumably similar to those
sent for exhibition and intended for sale.’
Catalogue of an Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake October 20 - December 31, 1926. London : Published under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926. Publication No. 178 E.I.D.
The full text of the entry is as follows:

'82. A Country Road leading towards a Church. (Plate X.)
One of numbers done at Shoreham showing the love of vivid contrasts of chiaroscuro. - A.H.P.
Sepia. (7 1/4 x 5 15/16)
Lent by Sir Frank Short, R.A., P.R.E., R.I.'
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1953 London: HMSO, 1963
The full text of the entry is as follows:

"PALMER, Samuel (1805-1881)

A country road leading towards a church.
The mount inscribed by A. H. Palmer One of numbers done at Shoreham showing the love of vivid contrasts of chiaroscuro.
Sepia. P.34-1953

Note: This drawing was previously in the collections of A. H. Palmer and Sir Frank Short, R.A., P.R.E., R.I., by whom it was lent to the Samuel Palmer Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1926 (no.82: reproduced on Pl.X of the catalogue), and was No.38 in the exhibition 'Samuel Palmer & his circle' organised by the Arts Council, 1957. It is No.91 (reproduced as Pl.44) in the catalogue in G. Grigson's Samuel Palmer, The Visionary Years, London, 1947. Grigson relates it to 'The Magic Apple Tree' in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge."

Exhibition History

Samuel Palmer and His Circle (Arts Council 01/01/1957-31/12/1957)
Samuel Palmer. Vision and Landscape (British Museum 21/10/2005-22/01/2006)
Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake (Victoria and Albert Museum 20/10/1926-31/12/1926)

Materials

Water-colour

Techniques

Painting

Subjects depicted

Churches; Sheep; Shepherd; Woodland; Rural scenes; Path

Categories

Paintings

Collection code

PDP