River scene

George Barrett Jr. (1767–1842) was a British landscape painter and son of the Irish-born artist George Barret (1732-1784). Barret Jr. was born in London, where his father had moved to in 1763, and he was to remain there for most of his life. Taught by his father, Barret Jr. initially focused on oil painting, however after helping to establish the Old Water-Colour Society in 1804 he turned increasingly to watercolour as his preferred medium. In 1840 he published The Theory and Practice of Water-Colour Painting.

While he initially followed the style of his father, depicting local English and Welsh landscapes, Barret Jr. became primarily known for his idealised, romantic scenes more akin to the poetic compositions of Claude Lorrain (c.1600-82). As he progressively abandoned reference to identifiable localities, Barret Jr. created imagined and idyllic places with a strong focus on romantic atmospheric effects, especially sunrises and sunsets.

This is also the case in River Scene, where the sun bathes the entire composition in a soft, golden hue. The white swans in the corner can also be seen to represent Apollo, the Sun God from Greek mythology, and while the people are dressed in contemporary fancy clothes, the architecture of the buildings makes further clear reference to ancient times.

Further reading:

Mallalieu, H.L. (1986), The Dictionary of British Watercolour Artists up to 1920: Volume I – The Text, 2nd edition, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club.