{"product_id":"32878","title":"\"The Mountain Mirror: Lake Lucerne (The Lake of the Four Cantons), 1870\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWatercolour\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e16 x 25 inches (40.5 x 63.5 cm)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSigned, \u0026amp; dated 1870, lower right\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFramed in a hand-finished gold frame with corner decorations and white slip\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn astonishingly atmospheric painting by Percival Skelton, an illustrator and mountaineer whose paintings are rare. The paintings show that Skelton possessed a great talent in the Romantic and Sublime manner and it is regrettable that he does not seem to have painted more. He showed some works at the Royal Academy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis very powerful image depicts Lake Lucerne, the Lake of the Four Cantons, as a place of unspoilt nature at a time that the British were discovering the joys of the Alps and mountaineering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tiny sailing craft perfectly expresses man's insignificance in the face of wild Nature - a key Sublime theme - and at the same time provides the perfect focus for the composition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSkelton was one of the most talented of a very gifted generation of book illustrators and was a dedicated mountaineer and climber, working frequently with Edward Whymper, an illustrator and the first man to climb the Matterhorn in 1865.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSkelton illustrated \"The Water Babies\", works by Edgar Allan Poe and many dozen other volumes, including a lovely edition of Byron's \"Childe Harold\" in which his talent for dramatic mountain scenery supplied an awe-inspiring background to the hero's journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSkelton was well-connected in the British art world; his brother-in-law was Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, President of the Royal Academy and the first Director of the National Gallery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #005500;\"\u003eTo buy the painting or reserve it \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #005500;\"\u003econtact \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #005500;\"\u003eCharles Mayes - \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #005500;\"\u003ecm@marineartists.co.uk   +44(0)20 7352 7759\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #005500;\"\u003e - or buy direct using the purchase button\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #005500;\"\u003eA larger photograph \/ full description available on request\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #005500;\"\u003eVAT does not apply\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Percival SKELTON (British, 1813 - 1900)","offers":[{"title":"Framed Watercolour","offer_id":55616694419798,"sku":"-32878","price":4750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1048\/3050\/1206\/files\/Skelton_20-_204_20Cantons_20-_20stamped_20-_20JP_20-_20DSC_6318_3773f730-b1a7-40f9-9f93-0179b0d5fde2.jpg?v=1791280190","url":"https:\/\/marineartists.co.uk\/products\/32878","provider":"Marine Artists","version":"1.0","type":"link"}