San Frediano in Cestello, Florence

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 Meryron 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.

The Baroque church of San Frediano in Florence is seen across the Arno River. Surmounted by a cupola and flanked by low buildings on either side, the church is unembellished - with the unfinished facade so common in Italy - yet sound in its appearance. In the foreground, two small boats contain men sifting gravel and sand from the river bank. Until the mid-20th century, these were commonly removed from beaches for the building industry.

This drypoint was conceived from a smaller pencil drawing that Bone made on the spot. The artist travelled in Italy between 1910-1912 making drawings and some drypoints from nature, which he would use to create works such as this at a later date.

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

Harold J. Wright, ‘Sir Muirhead Bone; Catalogue of prints from 1908 to 1939 being a continuation of Campbell Dodgson’s Catalogue of etchings and drypoints from 1898-1907’, Photocopied by the British Museum from the typescript in the possession of Messrs P & D Colnaghi, August, 1981, pl. 345, pp. 101-102

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    August 2018