Oil painting, 'Landscape', Philip Reinagle, 1819

Landscape with a path winding from the right foreground to a tall, isolated tree in the middle distance, right. Three figures, a traveller on the path, and a reclining male and standing female on a slightly raised hillock in the foreground on which are also two sheep. A lake, partially hidden by trees, visible in the middle distance on the left and right. On a hill above the lake sits a manorial dwelling whilst on the horizon line, is a mountain and a church.

Bequeathed by Mrs A. B. Woodcroft

Bequeathed by Mrs A. B. Woodcroft, 1903

This is an unidentified, perhaps, idealised view painted in the manner of the great, 17th- century, ‘classical’ landscapist Claude Lorrain (1600-82). The lone tree on the right, pushed back to the middle distance, is a typical ‘Claudian’ device which serves to open up the foreground whilst also guiding the eye to the distant landscape beyond.

The first two decades of the nineteenth century were a time of considerable ferment in British landscape painting which saw the emergence of John Constable (1776-1837) and J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Reinagle (1749-1833) was a near contemporary of both these artists and this ‘Claudian’ landscape, dated 1819, would have been seen as somewhat old-fashioned. The artist’s decision to paint in this style could reflect commercial considerations. Reinagle had a large family to support and may have sort to take advantage of the avid collecting of Claude Lorrain’s landscapes by English connoisseurs.

A ‘classical’ landscape painted in the manner of Claude Lorrain (1600-82). Reinagle’s adoption of this traditional style at a time when there were exciting developments in landscape painting, may reflect commercial considerations as Claude’s landscapes were still avidly collected by English connoisseurs.

480-1903