Victorian Watercolour Countryside Scene with Wheat / Hay stacks Unsigned

Victorian watercolour of countryside scene with wheat stacks drying in the sun. Unsigned.

This is a very accomplished little watercolour that catches the golden colour of a Victorian late summer day after the harvest has started. Picture is in great condition and really catches the eye.

Watercolour painting is commonly associated with the achievements of the English school of landscape painters from the late-18th century to the mid-19th century. Initially the artists restricted their paintings to tint washes - an ink or pencil drawing finished with a brush and water to spread the ink and create a tint effect. A restricted range of colours were used and the overall effect was quite monochromatic. While some artists continued to create tinted drawings, others began to push the boundaries and began using a wider palette of stronger colours to create a more painterly effect. Watercolours soon became popular throughout the UK with an upsurge in wildlife and plant paintings, as well as new demands for plein-air painters to replicate the scenes and topography of both tourist and military sites, and to accompany archeological and anthropological expeditions around the globe in order to document images of flora and fauna. A new Romantic style of watercolour painting emerged. Using rough-textured paper, paint was applied with a freer brushwork to capture fleeting effects in the landscape.