All At Sea Part 1
#SUBHEADING#Dutch Influence#SUBHEADINGEND# Marine painting has not always been popular. It was not until the 17th Century with the rise of the Golden Age of painting in Holland that what we regard today as true marine painting developed and came to the fore. In Western Europe marine painting began with scenes in early illuminated manuscripts; ships loaded with apostles or pilgrims frequently appear in the background of Gothic religious painting. By the end of the16th Century this had developed into accurate descriptions of busy ports and harbours in places such as Antwerp and Amsterdam. By the following century, parallel to the rise of landscape painting in Holland, artists had turned their eyes to the skies, estuaries and the open sea where the expanse of sky offered a variety of mood and atmosphere. The Ferens Art Gallery's collection of marine paintings is strongly influenced by the artists of the Netherlands. Artists such as Isaac Sailmaker, who was one of the early marine painters, adopted the 'pageant' style of Dutch marine painting depicting an array of fine vessels. This was the first of the styles to be adopted in Britain. #SUBHEADING#A New Style#SUBHEADINGEND# Two Dutch artists in particular were central in creating a new style of painting in England. They were father and son; both called William van de Velde, who travelled to England to depict for Charles II the growing might of the British naval and merchant fleets. The younger Van de Velde set the fashion for painting the action of wind and storm as well as the fighting of the naval battles of the Anglo-Dutch. Hull's example, showing a stage in the Four Days' Battle of 1666 is comparatively calm. Works such as Charles Brooking's 'Squadron Going to Winward' borrows from a Van de Velde composition whilst the paintings of Thomas Luny, later on, depict more conventionalised variants of this style. #SUBHEADING#Marine Painting and the Whaling Industry#SUBHEADINGEND# As Brooking had been influenced by the Dutch artist he, in turn, came to influence the earliest known Hull artists. By the end of the eighteenth century local ships were not battling with the Dutch but with the arctic conditions in the hunt for whales. It is unlikely that an artist ever went to the arctic to witness the whalers in action but we do know that one of the best early whaling paintings 'The Fleet of Sir Samuel Standidge', by an unknown artist, is based on a composition by Brooking that was readily available as an engraving. Although Hull whalers were clumsy conversions compared with the elegant clippers and schooners of the Indian and Transatlantic trade by the end of the eighteenth century it was common for ship owners to commission a portrait of their vessels. Most of the artists who took up this work were local artisans, sign painters, house painters and ship painters and although they had no formal training they at least possessed real knowledge of the subject that they were asked to paint.
All At Sea Part 2
Discover the history behind Ferens' marine paintings. Learn about John Ward, or the official war artists of the Second World War, and how post war artists are still inspired by the sea.
History of the Ferens Art Gallery (part 1)
At the turn of the twentieth century Hull's art collections were housed in variety of locations. Thomas Robinson Ferens decided that a purpose built art gallery should be constructed and so work began on the Ferens Art gallery in 1926.
History of the Ferens Art Gallery (part 2)
The Ferens Art gallery was completed in eighteen months and opened in 1927. Read about the changes and develpments the gallery has been through from its opening to the present day.
Early 20th Century British Art - The Rise of Modernism
The period of British Art dating from the turn of the 20th century, marked the rise of modernism in response to the influences of French Impressionism and reaction against the Art establishment in the form of the Salon in Paris and the Royal Academy in London. This gave rise to the various movements into which impressionism divided through the works of Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin. It also led to the recognition of 'Post-Impressionism' and the ideas and methods of European modernism from Fauvism to Cubism.
Early 20th Century British Art - Between the Wars
After the devastation of WWI, radical movements in art had retreated to more conservative forms that celebrated the local and familiar, representing a national character in relation to European art movements. However, some developments were completely original responses to the art that had gone before and an attempt to encompass the state of the natural and human world as it appeared to British artists of the time. This led to new forms of visual expression that represented the cutting edge of the Art World at the outbreak of WWII.
Early 20th Century British Art - Artists Groups
From the creation of 'Post-Impressionism' by Roger Fry in London, further groups began to form around the studios of particular artists, following the example of the leading independent artists in France. It is from this point that London began to contribute to the direction and development of modernism on an equal footing with Paris, with radical artists moving easily between both cities.
Hull and the Whaling Industry
At its height Hull could boast one of the largest and most successful whaling fleets in Britain. Discover how it all began, how the whalers' braved arctic conditions to catch their whales and how the introduction of steam powered vessels signalled a decline for the Hull whaler.
