Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/674

 644 Painting - George Fennel Robson (1790 — 1833) was an admirable interpreter of the lake and mountain scenery of England. Samuel Prout (1783 — 1852) excelled in drawing archi- tecture, and has never been surpassed in rendering the features of buildings. He was very chary of his work — a little drawing was made by him to go a long way; but then every line represented firmly and accurately as much as it was intended to show. He had a keen sense of the picturesque, his points of sight were well chosen, and his grouping was always happy. As a colourist he was not very successful. The South Kensington Museum contains several valuable water-colour drawings by Prout. Our limits forbid us to attempt any detailed account of the many men who contributed to the development of the present British School of water-colour painting, — such as William Hunt (1790 — 1864), who is amongst the best English colourists of the present century. Hunt's subjects were usually either rustic scenes or fruit and flowers, and his textures were marvellously rendered. His colouring was that of Nature herself, and his finish has never been excelled, if equalled. George Cattermole (1800 — 1868) is chiefly distinguished for his lifelike figure painting. Samuel Palmer (1805 — 1881), who owed much to the teaching of his father-in-law, Mr. John Linnell, and to Blake, whose works produced much impression on his mind, was a landscape painter of no common order. His works, especially his sun-sets, are characterized by an almost too great brilliancy of colouring. He worked both in oil and water-colour ; and is also celebrated for his etchings. Francis William Topham (1808 — 1877) was a very suc- cessful water-colour artist. His subjects are frequently drawn from Italy, Spain, and from Scotland and Ireland.