Going to Sea

Physical description

Composition showing two adults and two children standing on a sandy shoreline gesturing to three figures in a wooden rowing boat near to the shore. On the horizon, a large sailing can be seen to the right of the image.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

1858 (painted)

Artist/maker

Samuel Palmer, born 1805 - died 1881 (artist)

Materials and Techniques

Watercolour

Marks and inscriptions

'Going to India the Blessing'
'No 60 return from India S. Palmer E'
'Mr. Palmer wished it to be named 'Going to Sea' as it now is'

Dimensions

Height: 35.4 cm framed, Width: 58.8 cm framed, Height: 7.6 in, Width: 16.9 in

Object history note

To judge from labels stuck on the back of the picture, two earlier titles for this work were 'Going to India: the Blessing' and 'Return from India', corrected by a note reading 'Mr Palmer wished it to be named "Going to Sea" as it now is'. The references to India in these notes suggest that Palmer's intended subject was a topical one, related to the Indian Mutiny of 1857-8; there are other watercolours of about the same time with similar inspiration. The Indian Mutiny, like the Crimean War also in the 1850s provided several types of subject for the artist who wished to paint topical rather than historical drama. The composition and to a certain extent the colouring reflect Palmer's admiration for the Franco-Italianate classicism of Claude Lorrain, although the exaggeratedly craggy rocks are more like those in landscapes by Salvator Rosa, for example The Broken Bridge in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, which Palmer visited during his Italian tour of 1837-9.

Descriptive line

Water-colour by Samuel Palmer entitled 'Going to Sea', depicting figures on a sandy shoreline gesturing to three figures in a wooden rowing boat. England, 1858.

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

Vikutoria & Arub?to Bijutsukan-z? : eikoku romanshugi kaigaten = The Romantic tradition in British painting, 1800-1950 : masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum / selected by Mark Evans [Japan : Brain Trust], 2002. 185 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm.
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:

'DRAWINGS, ETC., BY SAMUEL PALMER

[… ]

WATER-COLOUR DRAWINGS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

117. Going to Sea. On a card behind the drawing is written in pencil, “Going to India the Blessing.” A MS. label on the back of the frame reads, “No 60 return from India S. Palmer E,” and a pencil inscription by an unknown hand on the backboard says: “Mr. Palmer wished it to be named ‘Going to Sea’ as it now is.”
Water-colour. (7 5/8 x 16 7/8) 538.
Ellison Gift.'

Exhibition History

Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake (Victoria and Albert Museum 20/10/1926-31/12/1926)
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Prefectural Museum of Art, Hyogo, Kobe, Japan 28/01/2003-06/04/2003)
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Koriyama City Museum of Art 22/11/2002-27/12/2002)
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Matsuzakaya Museum, Nagoya, Japan 19/10/2002-11/11/2002)
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan 24/08/2002-06/10/2002)

Materials

Water-colour

Techniques

Painting

Subjects depicted

Dog; Armour; People; Sea; Sailing ships; Rowing boat

Categories

Paintings

Collection code

PDP