Woman bathing

item details

NameWoman bathing

ProductionJohn Absolon; artist; 1830s-1860s; England

Classificationwatercolours, works on paper

Materialswatercolour

Materials Summarywatercolour

DimensionsImage: 257 (height), 358 (length)

Registration Number1957-0009-2

Credit lineGift of Archdeacon F.H.D. Smythe, 1957

Overview

John White Abbott (1764-1851) was an English surgeon and prolific amateur artist. He was born into a wealthy family in Exeter, Devon, where he remained for the rest of his life. Though he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1795-1805 and was well-known for his oils, his profession as surgeon did not require him to make an income with his art, and he never sold any paintings during his lifetime.

He received artistic training from his friend Francis Towne, whose distinct drawing style can be seen in Abbott’s own watercolours: layers of monochrome washes with precise pen outlines. This style was particularly well-suited for topographical watercolours, which Abbott specialised in. He copied many of Towne’s Italian sceneries and made a sketching tour to Scotland and the Lake District in 1791, yet most of his landscapes depict his local Exeter region.

This work is typical of his dense woodland studies that often focus on visually interesting trees. The large tree on the right side of this watercolour, positioned on high ground in front of a valley and wooded hill, takes up almost half of the entire composition.