As an artistic medium, watercolor is so widely practiced, and so widely
beloved, that it can be startling to reflect on its humble origins. For
hundreds of years, nevertheless, watercolor labored in the shadow of oil
painting; it was dismissed as a mere tool for creating preparatory
studies, or as a "feminine" pastime. But, from the Renaissance, there
have been artists who recognized the unique potential of watercolor: its
luminosity, its immediacy, its ability to create atmosphere--qualities
that derive directly from the quick-drying, translucent nature of
water-based pigments. In this landmark volume, Louvre curator
Marie-Pierre Salé tells the story of how these pioneering practitioners
unlocked the aesthetic power of watercolor and established it as a
medium in its own right.
Salé's incisive text takes us from medieval scriptoria to the studios of
the early twentieth-century modernists, encompassing every type of
work--from plein-air sketches to finished studio pieces--and a wide
variety of artists. Here are Dürer's exquisitely detailed animal
studies, Turner's atmospheric landscapes, Cézanne's tireless
explorations of the visible, Sargent's light-dappled sketches,
O'Keeffe's trailblazing abstractions. Throughout Salé draws on the
personal and professional writings of artists and critics, revealing the
rich dialogues that have propelled the development of watercolor, as
well as the social institutions that have supported it, such as the
nineteenth-century watercolor societies. A valuable appendix, also based
in primary sources, traces the technical development of the medium.
Watercolor: A History features more than three hundred full-color
illustrations, specially printed on Munken paper to capture the vibrancy
and texture of the original works. It is sure to be welcomed by artists,
scholars, and art lovers alike.
