This buoyant late 19th-century oil painting by English artist Alfred Conquest (1849-1928) depicts a picturesque coastal landscape with a village and figures. Conquest was an accomplished painter of plein air views, predominantly known for his work in north-west France and Cornwall.
Children play alongside a turquoise inlet where the grasses meet the golden sands. It’s a slice of unbroken tranquillity. Beyond, the tiled roofs of coastal cottages are punctuated by a Norman church, while the sails of a partially obscured windmill rotate with a passing breeze.
Born in Woodford, Essex, little is known about Conquest’s early years but it’s conceivable that he trained in Paris. This is apparent as, from the outset, his loose and spirited style was distinctly influenced by his French contemporaries. It’s possible that he studied with Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911) and Léon Bonnat (1833-1922) at the Académie Julian.
In contrast to the British, the French celebrated individual freedoms and offered a great sense of liberality with regard to landscape painting. Greater emphasis was placed upon painting nature from life, as the artist saw it, and less on replicating every minutia. It was an ideology that Conquest relished and, as such, he spent countless hours working across the Channel.
In 1882, he debuted at the Paris Salon with a view of Pont-Aven, a quaint commune in Brittany, famed for its artistic heritage. Captivated by its unspoilt scenery, artists had flocked here for over two decades and created something akin to a bohemian idyll. It would’ve been a fascinating time for the enthusiastic Englishman.
Two years later, he was shown at London’s Royal Academy with ‘On the Breton Shore’ and his career began to gain traction back home. In 1885, following an exhibition of the 19th-Century Art Society, a critic at The Magazine of Art praised his “strong, luminous, and high-toned sketch of ‘Low Tide on the Coast of Normandy,’ with its shining sand, black rocks, and silver sky.”
He continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1890 but became displeased at its structure and the apparent cronyism within the selection committee. In a letter to the Pall Mall Gazette, he described it as “a club for the advancement of private interests” where “personal tastes and friendly feelings (however unconsciously) will always guide the hanging of pictures”. Unsurprisingly, he advocated a model similar to the one adopted at the Paris Salon.
Towards the turn of the century, Conquest moved to the South East of England and appears to have faded into obscurity. A newspaper advertisement in 1897 referred to his ‘Riviera studio’, which was offered for rent.
He’s represented at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London.
Signed in the lower left and held in a later frame.
Learn more about Alfred Conquest in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 35” x 21” / 89cm x 53cm
Year of creation: c. 1890
Labels & Inscriptions: Stencil on reverse relating to the supplier/colourman, James Newman of Soho Square of London. The design was used between circa 1888 and 1894.
Provenance: Private collection, Sweden.
Condition: Cleaned. Areas of settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. Frame in good condition with minor age-related wear.
Our reference: BRV2035
