A Master of Moonlight: John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)
J.A. Grimshaw
“The work of Atkinson Grimshaw is valuable and unique in
several respects. He made a great popular success out of that amalgam of
Pre-Raphaelite sentiment, nature and industry that dominated the culture of
northern England in the later nineteenth century. His work is our only visual
equivalent to the great epics of industrial change’ (David Bromfield, Atkinson
Grimshaw 1836-1893), exhibition catalogue, 1979-80 edition, p. 5.
Liverpool Quay by Moonlight, 1887
A Painter’s Dream
The docks at Greenock, in the west of Scoltand, on the River
Clyde was the subject of several compositions that J.A. Grimshaw painted and
was a favorite location for depicting his night scenes. The industrial cities
of Britain and their commercial growth became the source of immense inspiration
for Grimshaw, as he celebrated the age of industry, commerce and conspicuous
wealth. His use of a carriage, as in Liverpool Quay by Moonlight, 1887, is
another characteristic element in Grimshaw’s works acting as an aide to the
viewer’s perspective along the orderly straight streets or the lonesome servant
girl making her way home.
Grimshaw’s dock scenes were almost always depicted at night or with a fading light. In Liverpool Quay by Moonlight, the glow of the moon casts its hazy light coming in from above the painting. By setting the scene under this faded light, Grimshaw was able to show off his skill at depicting the effects of light; here we see the glow from the shop fronts as it literally bounces off the wet cobblestones outside. Grimshaw’s fascination with depicting night scenes follows an allure to painting moonlight scenes during the Romantic era.
Grimshaw’s dock scenes were almost always depicted at night or with a fading light. In Liverpool Quay by Moonlight, the glow of the moon casts its hazy light coming in from above the painting. By setting the scene under this faded light, Grimshaw was able to show off his skill at depicting the effects of light; here we see the glow from the shop fronts as it literally bounces off the wet cobblestones outside. Grimshaw’s fascination with depicting night scenes follows an allure to painting moonlight scenes during the Romantic era.
Caspar
David Friedrich's Two
Men Contemplating the Moon, (1819)
It should be mentioned that Caspar David Friedrich
(1774-1840), who painted Two Men Contemplating the Moon (1819), is perhaps one
of the most well-known painters of this theme. The moon presented a magical and
fantastical subject matter and was a source of great inspiration across the
arts. For instance, Frederic Chopin composed Nocturne for Piano (1827-460) and
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
(1801). However, one of the most notable
painters of moonlight scenes, or ‘nocturnes’, was James Abbot McNeil Whistler,
Grimshaw’s contemporary. As a matter of
fact, Grimshaw befriended Whistler whilst in London and it is believed that they
possibly shared a studio, Whistler apparently described Grimshaw as an inventor
of ‘nocturnes’ saying, ‘I considered myself the inventor of nocturnes until I saw
Grimmy’s moonlight picture.’
In his paintings of the docks, Grimshaw
simultaneously created an image of a poetic and mysterious Victorian Britain, a
testimonial snapshot of a great industrial age. His interest in photography
also plays a part in this mystical vision, as does his Pre-Raphaelite precision
that can be seen in his detailing.
BIOGRAPHY
Caspar
David Friedrich's Two
Men Contemplating the Moon, (1819)
It should be mentioned that Caspar David Friedrich
(1774-1840), who painted Two Men Contemplating the Moon (1819), is perhaps one
of the most well-known painters of this theme. The moon presented a magical and
fantastical subject matter and was a source of great inspiration across the
arts. For instance, Frederic Chopin composed Nocturne for Piano (1827-460) and
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
(1801). However, one of the most notable
painters of moonlight scenes, or ‘nocturnes’, was James Abbot McNeil Whistler,
Grimshaw’s contemporary. As a matter of
fact, Grimshaw befriended Whistler whilst in London and it is believed that they
possibly shared a studio, Whistler apparently described Grimshaw as an inventor
of ‘nocturnes’ saying, ‘I considered myself the inventor of nocturnes until I saw
Grimmy’s moonlight picture.’
In his paintings of the docks, Grimshaw
simultaneously created an image of a poetic and mysterious Victorian Britain, a
testimonial snapshot of a great industrial age. His interest in photography
also plays a part in this mystical vision, as does his Pre-Raphaelite precision
that can be seen in his detailing.
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Leeds, in 1836, Grimshaw was the son of a policeman.
His parents were strict Baptists and his mother strongly disapproved of his
interest in paining and on one occasion she destroyed all his paints. He began
working as a clerk for the Great
Northern Railway in 1848 in their Leeds office but began to concentrate on
painting full-time in 1861. Being a self-taught artist, his early influence is
attributed to a contemporary Leeds artist of the Pre-Raphaelite style, John
William Inchbold (a friend of John Ruskins). The city also had several art
galleries so Grimshaw was able to see the work of Holman Hunt, Henry Wallis, and
William Powell Frith. The technique and realism of Pre-Raphaelite style, as
well as the intensity and role of color, would also play a part in his later
landscapes. As with the Pre-Raphaelites,
he would also draw on contemporary poetry and literature to inspire his work, especially
Alfred Lord Tennyson (The Lotus Eaters, The Lady of Shalott and Ode on the
death of the Duke of Wellington).
Knostrop Hall
John Atkinson Grimshaw with daughter Elaine outside front gateway of Knostrop Hall
Grimshaw soon became popular in Leeds, selling his work
through a couple of small galleries and picture dealers. His growing
popularity, particularly with art collectors in the northern urban centers,
encouraged him to paint the industrial ports and harbors of Liverpool, Hull,
Scarborough, Whitby and Glasgow. By the 1870s, he was at his most successful and
had rented Knostrop Hall, a 17th century manor house in Leeds. Old Hall remained the Grimshaw family main
home, for he and his wife Frances Theodosia Hubbard Grimshaw (1835-1917), for
the next 23 years. She gave birth to fifteen children but only six reached
adulthood; all of whom were named after Tennyson’s poems or historical figures
i.e. Elaine and Lancelot. John Atkinson
Grimshaw died at Knostrop Hall on October 13, 1893. It was demolished in 1960. He used its interiors as a backdrop and
painted a series of fashionably dressed women in the style of James Tissot and
collaborated with the dealer William Agnew to buy and sell his works in London.
John Atkinson Grimshaw also painted Knostrop Hall in to his paintings usually as a backdrop home in the foreground or off to the side of a hilltop. Some of my favorites are:
Comments
http://www.johnatkinsongrimshaw.org/
Many came about after what seems to have been a bankruptcy about 1880. There were a number of painters who took up his style.