Attrib. John Crome Trees with Figure on a Path

An original c.1805 watercolour painting, Attrib. John Crome, Trees with Figure on a Path.

John Crome (1768–1821), leading artist of the Norwich School and founder of the Norwich Society of Fine Arts, was a painter of rustic England and the landscapes around his home town of Norwich in particular. In the 19th century he was held in the same regard as contemporaries Gainsborough, Constable and Turner: in 1858 journalist John Wodderspoon opined 'That Gainsborough, Constable and Crome were men of genius none can dispute,' and at the end of the century the art historian Laurence Binyon stated that 'it is Crome we should fix upon rather than Constable' when seeking 'a classic'. In 1923, the artist and historian C.H. Collins Baker, named Crome, Constable and Turner as 'our three greatest masters' of landscape painting.

What distinguished Crome was that he was a painter of everyday lyricism: his work was concerned with unaffected, close observation of the natural world around him, in a way which has led to suggestions that it prefigured the 'en plein air' painting of the Impressionists. He was particularly interested in trees, being among the first to depict specific species and delineate branches in an accurate rather than generalised manner. Crome was greatly influenced by the Dutch 17th-century Old Masters, especially the humble woodland subjects of Meindert Hobbema (1638–1709).

There are a number of compositions by Crome very similar to the present watercolour, such as 'On the Skirts of the Forest' (oil painting, V&A no.236-1879), which has similarly placed trees, figure and distant horizon, and 'A Woody Landscape' (oil painting, V&A no.FA.64[O]), where a figure similarly walks on a path by trees. He also produced etchings on a similar theme, with woodland trees and figure, such as 'Road Scene, Hethersett' and 'Tree on a Mound' (National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, nos.1980.45.341 and 1980.45.343). Crome had a distinctive way of delineating tree branches, in a zig-zagged formation, which is especially apparent in his 'Forest Scene with Oak Trees' (oil painting, V&A no.1182-1875) and 'The Poringland Oak' (oil painting, Tate no.N02674), considered one of his most important works.

Crome failed to achieve the lasting fame of Constable and Turner for a number of reasons. His career was relatively short (he first exhibited aged thirty-six and he died aged fifty-two) and his confirmed output is small. Of humble origins, he remained in Norfolk his whole life and did not court the glamour and wealth of artistic life in London; Norwich at the time was significantly prosperous and provided enough opportunities for patronage and work as a drawing master to sufficiently sustain him. Furthermore, his reputation has long been beset by attribution problems. He did not sign or date his paintings and copies of his works are numerous: Crome spent twenty-five years teaching pupils to draw by copying his work and was in the habit of lending out his works for copying and studying.

In brown wash with graphite on cream wove paper watermarked 'J Whatman 1805'.

The drawing is inscribed with the artist's name at the lower right corner and on the verso by a later hand.

Provenance: The Collection of the etcher Percy James Westwood (1878–1958) and by descent.