JOHN FREDERICK LEWIS

 

Post 173 -by Gautam Shah

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SUNDAY Feature on ART of Architecture -by Gautam Shah 

John Frederick Lewis (1804-1876) is the one of the finest of the Orientalist painters. His site-based studies and sketches in gauche and water-colours are as meticulous as finished oil paintings. He virtually settled in Egypt for decade, and the studies and sketches, Pre-Raphaelite technique prepared here, were the basis of the finished work over text 25 years. John Ruskin, a close friend of the artist, wrote, that ‘Water-colour drawing can be carried no further, nothing has been left unfinished or untold.’

Lewis, began by painting animals, like his friend Edwin Landseer. But he became known for his Mediterranean scenes with oriental elements. He had a keen sense of architectural compositional and an unusual sense the architectural space. His on site sketches, even when partially done, reflect his capacity to capture the character of the space.

In the set published here, the emphasis has been to project his skill of sketching, so very few oil paintings have been included. ‘Lewis played with light like a magician delving into the complexities and patterns created by the dappling sunlight’.

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