Name/Title
Great Marlow on the ThamesEntry/Object ID
2018.08.31Description
Print
Reproduction print (n.d.) after oil painting (date unknown) by Alfred Fontville de Bréanski Jr.
This peaceful scenic landscape image depicts Great Marlow (now Marlow), a market town and a parish, Buckinghamshire, on the River Thames, west of London, England. The print shows the town with All Saints Church with its tall spire and a bridge to the right. Walkers and boaters are enjoying the river, as are the white swans, with green banks and tall trees in the background.Artwork Details
Medium
Print on paperSubject Place
Region
Western EuropeContinent
EuropeContext
From Norman times the manor, parish, and later borough were formally known as Great Marlow, distinguishing them from Little Marlow. In 1896 the civil parish of Great Marlow was divided into Great Marlow Urban District (the town) and Great Marlow civil parish (the rural areas). In 1897 the urban district was renamed Marlow Urban District, and the town has been known simply as Marlow.
There has been a church in Marlow since ca. 1070; however, the current Church of All Saints was built 1832-1835 on the same site after the spire of the previous church collapsed in 1831. And there has been a bridge since the reign of King Edward III (1327-77), though an original crossing may date from 1309. The bridge has been damaged/destroyed and rebuilt/restored in various forms over the centuries and today the current suspension bridge, built 1829-1832, connects the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire and the village of Bisham in Berkshire.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Alfred Fontville de Bréanski Jr. (1877-1945)Role
PainterArtist
UnknownRole
PrinterDate made
n.d.Time Period
19th Century, 20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in London, England, Alfred Fontville De Bréanski Jr. was a famed and popular British landscape painter born into a family of painters. Not only was his father the highly regarded Victorian landscape painter, Alfred de Bréanski Sr. (1852-1928), but his mother was the Welsh painter, Annie Roberts. In addition, his uncle Gustave de Bréanski (1856-1898) was a noted seascape painter, and his aunt Julie had also trained as an artist. He studied art early in life, training with family and then at St. Martins School of Art, now the Central St. Martins College of Art and Design.
De Bréanski Jr.’s early works are, as expected, in the style of his father - luminous naturalistic landscapes of rural England, Wales or the Scottish Highlands. Sometimes called the "biscuit tin painters", artists such as de Breanski Jr. celebrated the British picturesque of John Constable (1776-1837), and his paintings often evoke earlier British Romanticism. By the 1890s, de Bréanski Jr. went to France to “finish” his artistic education and explore the rich and diverse arts community of La Belle Époque Paris. The era's Symbolist and Impressionist influences can be seen in his subsequent works. On his return to London, de Bréanski Jr. began to display his paintings at the Royal Academy and Royal Society of British Artists exhibitions. De Bréanski Jr. enjoyed considerable success with a series of garden paintings, likely influenced by the Water Lilies series by Oscar-Claude Monet (1840-1926). He also produced in 1915 several posters for the Underground Electric Railways Company showing Twickenham by Tram and Kew Gardens by Tram. With these Art Nouveau designs can be seen a move to the Modern art movement, and its ready accessibility.Dimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
35.6 cmWidth
51 cm
