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Watercolor painting is one of the most accessible forms of art.
Usingbrightly colored pigments, artists illustrated small scenes and decorative designs in the margins of handwritten books.
TheRenaissancebrought watercolor painting into the spotlight.
Albrecht Dürer, “Left Wing of a Blue Roller,” ca. 1500–512 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
It went beyond decorative manuscripts and into the works of artists like Albrecht Durer.
But while watercolor painting was well known, it was not taken as seriously as oil painting or printmaking.
In the 19th century, however, watercolors had a major bump in status.
Albrecht Dürer, “Mary Among a Multitude of Animals,” ca. 1503 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
There was ageneral excitement about worldwide exploration, and wildlife and nature illustrations were used to illustrate scientific publications.
His famous book,The Birds of America(18271839), identified 25 new species.
With it, he began an artistic tradition that still lives on todayfield guides as illustrated with watercolors.
While Audubon had a restrained, technical approach to his work, other famous watercolor artists werent as precise.
Together, they demonstrate the incredible range that watercolor has.
Albrecht Durer (14711528)
Albrecht Durer, Left Wing of a Blue Roller, ca.
In addition to all of that, he also produced some of the first watercolor paintings in Europe.
Albrecht Durer, Mary Among a Multitude of Animals, ca.
After studying it as a child, he had an apprenticeship with an engraver before trying watercolor painting.
JMW Turner, “Clare Hall and King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, from the Banks of the River Cam,” 1793 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Turnerdabbled in more than watercolor painting.
Later, Turner used the medium as a way to chronicle his travelshis passion for it never waning.
The last decade of his working life featured a surge in watercolor painting production.
JMW Turner, “Margate,” ca. 1822 (Photo:Google Arts & Culture, Public domain)
JMW Turner, Margate, ca.
John James Audubon, Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), ca.
The two traveled together, and Murray spent extensive time in Rome, Morroco, and the Canary Islands.
John James Audubon, “The Birds of America” Depicting a Ruffed Grouse (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
In addition to producing a body of work in oil, he also practiced in watercolor.
His expressive style helped him produce atmospheric depictions of landscapes and seascapes, sometimes dotted with small human figures.
In a similar tradition to other painters, his watercolors were often of landscapes that documented his travels.
John James Audubon, “Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus),” ca. 1825 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
They are also an excellent example of hisExpressionismaesthetic.
In both media, Hopper’s focus was the same; the American experience as seen through landscapes.
Charles Demuth, Bermuda No.
Elizabeth Murray, “Vista de la Orotava y del Pico Teide,” circa 1851 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Of watercolor, he said, Watercolor I took up and took to it well, with no introduction.
Andrew Wyeth (19172009)
American artistAndrew Wyethis the son of a well-known illustrator, N.C. Wyeth.
Thanks to his father’s guidance, Andrew mastered watercolor at an early age.
Elizabeth Murray, “Church Patronage,” 1860 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
By 20 years old, he had his first solo exhibition featuring all watercolor paintings.
(The show sold out.)
James McNeill Whistler, “Green and Silver-Beaulieu, Touraine,” 1888 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
James McNeill Whistler, “Amsterdam Nocturne ,” 1883–1884 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Thomas Moran, “Above Tower Falls, Yellowstone,” 1872 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Thomas Moran, “Yellowstone, Hot Spring,” 1892 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Winslow Homer, “Gloucester Harbor,” 1873 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Winslow Homer, “Three Fisher Girls,” 1881 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
John Singer Sargent, “Gondoliers’ Siesta,” ca. 1904 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
John Singer Sargent, “Muddy Alligators,” 1917 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Charles Demuth, “Trees and Barns: Bermuda,” 1917 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Charles Demuth, “Bermuda No. 2, The Schooner,” 1917 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons,CC0 1.0)
Georgia O’Keeffe, “Sunrise,” 1916 (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
