Coast Scene in Picardy near Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme
Bonington was born in England, but moved to France with his family when he was fifteen, where he remained until his early death in 1828. In a working career of little more than six years he perfected a dazzling technique in both oil and watercolour that was the envy of artists on both sides of the Channel. Coast Scene in Picardy, painted when Bonington was about 24 years old, is a fine example of the combined English and French influences at work. The cloud-filled sky and shimmering horizon are part of that English landscape tradition which is in turn derived from 17th century Holland. The boldness and simplicity of Bonington's zig-zagging composition, suggesting limitless distance, owes much to the French artist Delacroix (1798-1863) with whom Bonington shared a studio between 1824 and 1826.
