Ceri Richards (1903-1971)

La Cathédrale Engloutie (The Submerged Cathedral), written by the French composer Claude Debussy, was published in 1910 as the tenth prelude in Debussy’s first of two volumes of twelve piano preludes. It is characteristic of Debussy’s most celebrated ‘Impressionist’ work and remains one of his most famous pieces. Ceri Richards, an avid music lover and talented musician, was greatly inspired by Debussy’s prelude and produced a series of paintings on La Cathédrale Engloutie, which strove to emanate the emotional response or feeling a work of music instilled.