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Lot 57 ALBERT GOODWIN, R.W.S. (1845-1932)
Lots 57 - 61
Goodwin showed himself to be an artist with a unique vision from an
early age, exhibiting his first picture at the Royal Academy when he
was just fifteen years old. He grew up during a period that saw the
foundation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, whose beliefs in 'truth
to nature' and their promotion of colour and working from nature
became highly influential characteristics of Goodwin's work. He
remarked in a Diary entry of 1909 that he felt he had 'suffered all my artistic life from having started under Pre-Raphaelite superlatives in colour. They emphasised the need of scenery and painting and
rejoicing in colour' (H. Smith, Albert Goodwin R.W.S., 1845-1932,
Leigh-on-Sea, 1977, p. 36).
At the end of the 1860s Goodwin met John Ruskin (1819-1900), through
his mentors Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) and Arthur Hughes (1832-1915), who was to have an equally, if not more, significant effect on his
technique and composition. In 1872 Ruskin invited Goodwin to join him
on an expedition to Italy, and Goodwin continued to travel throughout
the continent and further afield, until his death in 1932. It was
Ruskin who 'bellyragged [Goodwin] into love of form when [he] was
getting too content with colour alone;....the pleasure that is to be
found in lines which should string a drawing together is almost an unknown quantity in these days of paint and paint only' (Smith, op.
cit., p. 24).
Much of Goodwin's later work takes on an increasingly ethereal quality as the combination of his use of pen and wash, together with breadth
and detail, so repeatedly achieve a quite magical unity.
Property from an Estate
Lots 57 - 61
Goodwin showed himself to be an artist with a unique vision from an
early age, exhibiting his first picture at the Royal Academy when he
was just fifteen years old. He grew up during a period that saw the
foundation of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, whose beliefs in 'truth
to nature' and their promotion of colour and working from nature
became highly influential characteristics of Goodwin's work. He
remarked in a Diary entry of 1909 that he felt he had 'suffered all my artistic life from having started under Pre-Raphaelite superlatives in colour. They emphasised the need of scenery and painting and
rejoicing in colour' (H. Smith, Albert Goodwin R.W.S., 1845-1932,
Leigh-on-Sea, 1977, p. 36).
At the end of the 1860s Goodwin met John Ruskin (1819-1900), through
his mentors Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) and Arthur Hughes (1832-1915), who was to have an equally, if not more, significant effect on his
technique and composition. In 1872 Ruskin invited Goodwin to join him
on an expedition to Italy, and Goodwin continued to travel throughout
the continent and further afield, until his death in 1932. It was
Ruskin who 'bellyragged [Goodwin] into love of form when [he] was
getting too content with colour alone;....the pleasure that is to be
found in lines which should string a drawing together is almost an unknown quantity in these days of paint and paint only' (Smith, op.
cit., p. 24).
Much of Goodwin's later work takes on an increasingly ethereal quality as the combination of his use of pen and wash, together with breadth
and detail, so repeatedly achieve a quite magical unity.
Property from an Estate
Albert Goodwin, R.W.S. (1845-1932)
The flower market in the Piazza delle Erbe, Verona, Italy
Closed10 December 2008
Price Realised
GBP 10,000
More Information
Specialist note
Goodwin visited Verona in 1872 in the course of a three-month artistic tour of Italy organised by John Ruskin (1819-1900). Goodwin had been introduced to Ruskin a few years earlier, probably in 1869, and had also become close friends with Ruskin's cousin Joan and her husband Arthur Severn, who were the other members of the 1872 touring party. They visited Verona towards the end of their tour, when they had already travelled from Switzerland down through Pisa and Florence to Rome, and were in the process of journeying back up through the Italian peninsula towards Venice.
The Piazza delle Erbe has always been the focal point of the city of Verona, standing as it does on the site of the Roman forum. The piazza gains its name from the herbs which have been sold for hundreds of years in its market, alongside fruit, vegetables and the flowers after which Goodwin's watercolour is titled.
The Piazza delle Erbe has always been the focal point of the city of Verona, standing as it does on the site of the Roman forum. The piazza gains its name from the herbs which have been sold for hundreds of years in its market, alongside fruit, vegetables and the flowers after which Goodwin's watercolour is titled.