1812
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque is a 1812 watercolor by Thomas Rowlandson, a British Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a group of people on a tour, walking in a landscape with hills and trees. The interesting thing about this work is that it's a satire, making fun of the idea of the "picturesque" landscape. It was inspired by a book that described the beauty of the Lake District in north-west England. To learn more about the artist's use of light and shadow, look into the technique of chiaroscuro.
Thomas Rowlandson’s 1812 watercolour depicts Dr Syntax sketching a waterfall at Ambleside in the Lake District, while his companion Patrick eats ravenously. The scene reflects the Picturesque aesthetic, which valued irregular and varied natural forms. The drawing was created to illustrate satirical verses by William Combe, mocking the Picturesque movement popularized by William Gilpin’s writings. Though intended for the publication *The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque*, this work was never etched or included in the final series.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 1757 – 21 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation.
See the richer artist page
