Eric Ravilious

Eric Ravilious Born:                           22 July 1903 in Acton, London. Brief History:           He began his studies at Eastbourne School of Art and then moved on to the Royal College of Art where he met his tutor Paul Nash. It is from Nash that Eric Ravilious was most likely inspired to become a war artist when he eventually joined the Royal Marines, where he held the rank of Captain. He left college and embraced the art world as a muralist, but it wasn’t long before his work got noticed by such high-renown names as Wedgewood whom he supplied some ceramic designs. He also dabbled in wood-engraving, where people saw him as the “leading light”, however it is for his watercolour paintings of the South Downs that he is most well-known. Death:                        At the age of 39, Ravilious was taking part in a rescue mission off the coast of Iceland with his allies in the Royal Air Force when the aircraft he was in failed to return to base and Ravilious was pronounced a casualty of War in 1942. Below:             Left: “Downs in Winter” (1934) Right: “Vase of Flowers in a Garden” (Date unknown).   I assumed at first that because this painting appeared unfinished when compared to his other vibrant watercolours that maybe he had died before its completion, but after delving into the artist’s history I found that he had created the “Garden series” in the late 1930’s which it is quite possible this was a part of. Therefore I have gathered that it is more likely that this picture was the artist’s attempt at experimenting with his own techniques, which he then abandoned. The vase of flowers appears fully coloured in another piece of his called, “Flowers on Cottage Table”. I like how the scratch marks give the impression that he has made a rubbing of a plank of wood, making the piece look a lot less controlled, almost chaotic when compared to his other work.