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Crambe Beck Bridge, near Kirkham, Yorkshire. Formerly called 'Chirk Aqueduct'.
Cotman, John Sell, born 1782 - died 1842 - Enlarge image
Crambe Beck Bridge, near Kirkham, Yorkshire. Formerly called 'Chirk Aqueduct'.
- Object:
Watercolour
- Place of origin:
Great Britain (painted)
- Date:
1805 (painted)
- Artist/Maker:
Cotman, John Sell, born 1782 - died 1842 (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Watercolour
- Museum number:
115-1892
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case WD, shelf 21
The quality of this beautiful watercolour derives from the simplicity of its composition, three great arches of a viaduct standing alone in the countryside and the delicate play of washes that envelop it and suggest the fall of sunlight on the scene. Cotman does not show us the whole structure, but takes it up to its piers to suggest domination over the surrounding landscape. It is shown off-centre to suggest a progression of arches to the left and right. The strength and power of the structure are contrasted with the fragility of the rickety wooden fence glimpsed through the arches below.
Although the viaduct, designed and built by John Carr in 1785, was only 20 years old when Cotman painted it, some of the rendering that Carr had specified had already fallen off, revealing the long slabs of local stone beneath. Thus the structure had mellowed, and superficially resembled some of the ancient Roman aqueducts that were rendered in a similar way.
