Product Description

Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) died at the age of 39, when the Air Sea Rescue mission, which he was accompanying in his capacity as Official War Artist, failed to return to its base in Iceland. In his short working life he figured in a group of exceptionally gifted artists, including Edward Bawden and John Nash, who came to prominence just before World War II. He achieved considerable success with his design work in a variety of fields, and is acknowledged to be one of the greatest English wood-engravers. Ravilious, however, felt that his most serious work was landscape painting in watercolour. Surprisingly, this material was generally neglected until the publication of "The England of Eric Ravilious", a study hailed on publication as "an irresistible book about a still underrated artist". This re-issue marks the centenary of the artist's birth. In his powerful yet exquisite watercolours, Ravilious's England reveals itself as a country of rolling downland, quiet countryside, tranquil gardens, greenhouses and farmhouse interiors, the calm and beauty of which are threatened by the gathering storm of an imminent war.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #121966 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 104 pages

Customer Reviews

An unsung hero
Whilst it seems churlish to have any reservations about a book on Ravilious given the dearth of titles about this artist, I am disappointed that several paintings have been reproduced in black and white. That is a minor quibble. Overall, this is a fine survey of Eric Ravilous's works.

If you aren't familiar with this artist, he bears a passing resemblance to Paul Nash. There is a deep-seated pastoralism in many of the pictures that clearly has its root in the visionary paintings of Blake and Palmer, but it is a 20th-century view that is free of any sentimentality or religious dogma. Ravilious died young, disappearing on a flight during active service in World War Two. This book offers a tantalising glimpse of the artist's potential.

A useful collection of Ravilious' watercolours
The book opens with a list of plates, and a chronology. The main text, interesting but somewhat reverential in tone, chronicles his life and wide ranging career. The Plates conclude the book; there is no index.

It is an attractively laid out book, and a good size (over 10.5" x 8.5"; 27cm x 21.5cm), however it is let down in a couple of respects. Firstly the quality of reproduction of the text is sub-standard; the problem is probably pre-printing as the illustrations to not appear to be affected. Secondly the images are disappoint small relative to the page size, while the plates a presented one to a page, very few occupying more than half the page area. There are 30 full colour reproductions but disappointingly 34 in black and white, plus a few small black and white engravings accompanying the text.

A valuable book for providing us with a collective of Ravilious' watercolours, a shame more care was not take with its production; four stars for content ignoring the poorly reproduced text.