Dimensions: support: 264 x 383 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: This watercolor, "View from Isola Borromea, Lago Maggiore," is by John Robert Cozens, who lived from 1752 to 1797. It's currently housed at the Tate. Editor: It feels… melancholic. The muted blues and greys give it a quiet, almost dreamlike quality. Curator: Cozens was celebrated for his atmospheric landscapes, which offered a romantic vision of the Italian countryside, appealing to British tourists on the Grand Tour. Editor: I can see that appeal. It romanticizes travel, suggesting this almost sublime, solitary experience, even though those boats hint at a busy scene. Curator: Indeed, these scenes were often consumed as idyllic souvenirs, shaping perceptions of Italy through a very particular lens. Editor: It’s funny how an image can be both deeply personal in its creation and then become a cultural touchstone, shifting in meaning. Curator: Absolutely. It makes you wonder what Cozens himself would think of its place in shaping the cultural landscape. Editor: Well, I find myself wanting to be on that lake now.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/cozens-view-from-isola-borromea-lago-maggiore-t08130
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This watercolour is one of a series of drawings commissioned by William Beckford. Cozens started making watercolours of Italian subjects for Beckford as early as 1780 and two years later accompanied him to Italy. Beckford, the young author and millionaire, was a friend and patron of Cozens’s father, the artist Alexander Cozens. In Italy, John Robert Cozens filled his sketchbooks with small studies, which he later worked up into finished watercolours. These proved influential on the young JMW Turner, who probably made a copy of Cozens’s original study for this work. Gallery label, April 2007
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