This late 19th-century impressionistic oil painting by British artist Claude Andrew Calthrop (1844-1893) depicts a pastoral scene in Brittany, France. Calthrop was predominantly known as a masterly painter of genre scenes and this is a rare example of his ‘plein air’ landscapes.
Cattle graze under brisk clouds as a breeze catches the timorous grasses. It’s an amalgamation of dabs and spirited brushwork, produced among the elements.
Calthrop was raised on a farm amid the picturesque marshlands of Deeping Fen, Lincoln, an area teeming with wildlife. As a boy, he was surely inspired to sketch outside, capturing the ever-changing landscape as it shifted through the seasons. His initial education was undertaken at a private school operated by the local curate, Joshua Kirkman, before he enrolled at the Lambeth School of Art, studying under John Sparkes.
From here, he was admitted into the Royal Academy Schools where he was awarded at least three medals - two for his draughtsmanship and a third for ‘the best historical picture in oil’. While still a student, he debuted at two of London’s foremost venues - the Royal Society of British Artists and the British Institution. And two years later, at the prestigious Royal Academy itself, with a piece titled ‘After Mass’.
In 1868, seemingly buoyed by this early success, he headed for Paris where he shared a studio with the figure painter, Thomas Davidson RA (1842-1919), who trained under Léon Bonnat (1833-1922). It’s likely that Calthrop was also a student of Bonnat.
Training in Paris during the late 1860s would’ve been a fascinating affair as there was a tangible conflict between the regimen of the old guard and the controversy of the Impressionists. Claude Monet (1840-1926) produced ‘The Luncheon’ that year, which was ultimately rejected by the hanging committee of the Salon. While the highly academic, exceedingly polished, elite painters such as William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) were lauded by the establishment.
What did the young Calthrop make of it all? Thrown into a dizzying world of strict tuition, high fashion, and artistic poverty. Was he excited by the emerging ideas of painting ‘en plein air’ among nature or did he shun modernity in favour of the stricter world of respectable academia? If we consider his oeuvre, the answer is clear - he favoured a finer style for his exhibited works while also producing looser, freer, landscape studies for himself. He respected his trailblazing peers but also the realities of a gainful career.
Upon his return, he established himself as a painter of merit, producing numerous highly accomplished works depicting historical scenes, focusing often on the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. These include ‘The Attempted Assassination of William the Silent, Prince of Orange’ and a rather sombre ‘Marie Antoinette Being Led to Execution’. Both are rendered with exemplary draughtsmanship.
However, over time, he turned increasingly to scenes from everyday domestic life, perhaps due to the changing tastes of patrons who sought to decorate their homes with relatable subjects. Traditionally, history painting was reserved for the landed gentry, while lighter subjects were favoured by the rising middle classes.
His work ‘Tea Time’ from 1875, is a particularly fine example and depicts three ladies attired in billowing dresses while taking tea in a Victorian parlour. The composition pulls us into the scene, as if we’re an invited guest, while the furnishings and drapery are handled adroitly. It sold at Sotheby’s for £117,000. That same year, he married Louisa Chance in Malvern, Worcestershire, at a grand wedding, reported by the local press. Louisa’s parents were evidently well-connected, which would serve the young artist well. The pair later moved to a substantial property in London - quite a departure for a farmer’s son from The Fens.
With his career gathering momentum, Calthrop’s life was sadly cut short and we’re left to wonder what he could’ve produced. Not only was he capable of working at the highest echelons with elegantly crafted scenes, he could also apply his spirit to capture the fleeting effects of nature.
His brother was the celebrated actor John Clayton (born John Alfred Calthrop).
Held in an early 20th-century frame.
Learn more about Claude Andrew Calthrop in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 24½” x 17½” / 62cm x 44cm
Year of creation: c. 1885
Labels & Inscriptions: Windsor & Newton supplier’s stamp on the reverse dating to c. 1885.
Provenance: With the artist / Thence by descent / The Rowley Gallery, Kensington, probably for framing (c. 1912) / Army & Navy Stores for storage (1932-1934) / Bequeathed to Nicolas de Watteville / Bequeathed to Karen Bidwill (c. 1982) / Leonard Joel Auction, Melbourne, 27 June 2019 / Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Revarnished. Faint stretcher marks. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £117,000 for ‘Tea-Time (1875)’, Oil on canvas, Sotheby’s, Selected Paintings - Sporting Pictures & Bronzes, Billingshurst, 28 July 1998 (lot 385).
Our reference: BRV2079
