1810
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire is a 1810 by John Sell Cotman, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a ruined abbey surrounded by trees and hills. It's an old Gothic church, crumbling and overgrown. The artist drew this place to remind people of the past, which is a common theme in his work, often featuring old buildings and landscapes. The abbey is a key part of the painting, with its old stones and broken walls. It looks like it's been abandoned for a long time, with trees and plants growing all around it. You can see more of this style by looking at the work of artist: John Sell Cotman (British, 1782–1842).
Rievaulx Abbey belongs to Cotman’s first series of etchings, published in 1811. The thirteen images depict the landscape of Yorkshire and picturesque architectural views such as rural cottages, ancient stone walls, and overgrown, ruined abbeys. The crumbling Gothic church was a quintessentially Romantic theme, intended to allude to a lost past.
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters.
See the richer artist page
