Canal and bridge of SS. Apostoli, Venice.

Sir Muirhead Bone (1876-1953) was a Scottish artist known for his piquant drypoint etchings, draughtsmanship and watercolours. Bone originally trained as an architect at the Glasgow School of Art. After initially taking night classes, he turned to printmaking in 1898. Self-taught, his early works likely took the style of those he studied, chiefly Charles Meryon and James Whistler. In 1901 Bone moved to London, quickly gaining a reputation, moving in the same circles as art collector Campbell Dodgson and D.Y. Cameron, a contemporary of Bone in etching and a fellow Scotsman. In 1916, Bone successfully campaigned for the role of the first official British War Artist, filling the position in both World War One and World War Two. Between the World Wars, Bone continued to build up a considerable reputation, exhibiting frequently in both London and New York. A mentor of many young artists, he served as a trustee of the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery and Imperial War Museum. He was knighted in 1937.

Bone's watercolours and lustrous drawings are evidence of his incredible skill in depicting often grim wartime landscapes and human activity. However, it is in his drypoints that we can see his true mastery over architectural detail. His strengths are in rendering line and balance to create dynamic cityscapes, concerned primarily with the existence of buildings in all their states, including the comings and goings of their construction. Bone's architectural training is a fetchingly persistent ‘backbone’ in these works.

Sun, thick with heat, bears down on a crowded Venetian canal, the bridge of SS Apostoli arching above. Another detailed and complex composition of Bone’s, the busy scene depicts workmen as they hoist goods from a barge to a man on the bridge. Meanwhile pedestrians, oblivious to the workmen below, walk across the unassuming bridge. In the lower right foreground a man stands in a boat, and his goods lie at his feet.

Bone’s architectural skill in rendering buildings and perspective is clearly seen in the buildings that line the canal as they recede. Despite not being visible, the presence of other buildings is felt, through the shadows they cast upon the scene. In all, this is a compelling and lively vision of Venice.

Sources:

British Museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=131762

David Cohen, ‘Bone, Muirhead’, Grove Art Online, Oxford Art Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 6 December 2017

National Galleries Scotland, https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/sir-muirhead-bone

Wikipedia, 'Muirhead Bone', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muirhead_Bone

Dr Mark Stocker  Curator, Historical International Art   December 2017