Ceri Richards (1903-1971)

In 1957 Ceri Richards began to work on a series of works inspired by Claude Debussy's eponymous prelude from 1910. La Cathédrale Engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral) refers to the legend of the submerged cathedral of Ys in Brittany which was said to rise from the depths of the water at moments of profound calm, the sound of monks chanting, its organ and bells reverbating across the sea. Richards admired Debussy's work greatly and is said to have found the mood and atmosphere of the piece very visual, reminding him of the coast of Gower. Alan Bowness called the pictures 'the most inventive and beautiful series of paintings in the artist's whole career' in his 1964 essay Music in Colour.