This enchanting late-19th-century oil painting by British artist William Gosling RBA (1824-1883) depicts a glade within a majestic wood. Gosling was a well-regarded painter of landscapes.
A pressing question, often foremost in the mind of any young aspiring landscape artist, is how far one should accurately reflect nature as it sprawls out before them in all its unerring complexity. For centuries, the old masters were expected to ‘idealise’ - study the elements, yet arrange them in a manner befitting the divine, essentially as God intended. While in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Romantics tried to allude to the sensation of being among nature, whipping up its melodrama for emotional effect.
But during the mid-19th century, the emphasis switched to something entirely different - painting the truth. Every craggy rock, mossy hillside, rutted path, and sullen cloud. Hordes of British painters gathered up their kit and headed for the countryside, painting from life as faithfully as possible. A discerning William Gosling was among them.
Born near Wokingham, Berkshire, Gosling's early years were spent working as a schoolmaster. The son of a landed proprietor, he was perhaps initially urged by his family to gain a ‘proper job’. However, a few years after his marriage in 1847 to Emma Lunn, a farmer’s daughter, he picked up his brushes and took the first step towards becoming an important proponent of British naturalism.
His bold decision brought immediate success in the form of debuts at both the Royal Academy and the British Institute - and a year later with his election as a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. Evidently, his elder peers were enamoured with the young man’s potential.
Living predominantly in the picturesque historic village of Wargrave, Gosling had ample access to the leafy delights of the home counties. He’s noted for his resplendent views of the silvery Thames and in this respect his oeuvre reminds us of the eminent George Vicat Cole RA (1833-1893).
In his ‘River Scene with Men in a Punt’, which is currently in the collection at the V&A Museum, two figures navigate an algae-covered waterway under a resplendent tinted sky. Reflections of sprawling foliage gather among the ripples - it’s a tonal masterclass.
While in this dexterous piece from around 1870, he’s captured the subtle variations of light as it tip-toes through a dense wood. The sense of depth is quite astonishing as we glance between the parallel lines of shaded beech trees - with the foremost oak forked to reveal its fantastical gnarls. In 1868, Gosling exhibited ‘Where'er the Rude and Moss-Grown Beech’ at the Royal Academy and it’s conceivably the same piece.
He’s represented in numerous public collections including at Reading Museum and the V&A.
Held in a gilt frame, which is probably original and labelled on the reverse.
Learn more about William Gosling in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 39½” x 30” / 100cm x 76cm
Year of creation: c. 1870
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed with artist’s name on reverse / Stencilled stock number.
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Canvas relined. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £18,000 for ‘A Hot Day In The Harvest Field (1877)’, Oil on canvas, Christie’s, Victorian Pictures, Drawings and Watercolours’, London, 1992 (lot 114).
Our reference: BRV2033
