Château de Lourdes
William Callow
July 11, 1836 · Watercolor over graphite, white gouache (bodycolor) · Drawings and Prints
On June 6, 1836, the twenty-four year old Callow set out from Paris on a two-month walking tour. By early July, he reached the Hautes Pyrénées, and would spend three days around Lourdes, reveling in the wild mountain scenery–at that time, the small town was dominated by a medieval fortress and not yet associated with miraculous healing. Copley Fielding had encouraged Callow’s early talent for watercolor in London and, after the young artist moved to Paris in 1829 to work for Newton Fielding, he became friends with Thomas Shotter Boys and developed a style indebted to Richard Parkes Bonington. This sketch, made on site, demonstrates the artist’s early style characterized by calligraphic lines and luminous washes.
- Artist
- William Callow
- Date
- July 11, 1836
- Medium
- Watercolor over graphite, white gouache (bodycolor)
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- Gift of Roberta J.M. Olson and Alexander B.V. Johnson, 2017