Ceri Richards, L.G. (1903-1971)

The inspiration for La Cathédrale Engloutie originates from Richards' intense engagement with Claude Debussy's prelude written for solo piano in 1910. The series of works he created on the theme from 1957-1963 '... signalled a major change of preoccupation, and marked the end of a period of artistic uncertainty: Richards had embarked on what Alan Bowness, in his 1964 essay, 'Music in Colour', was to recognise as 'the most inventive and beautiful series of paintings in the artist's whole career''(M. Gooding, Ceri Richards, Dumfriesshire, 2002, pp. 135-136).