The Interior of a Continental Church
The Interior of a Continental Church
David Cox (1783-1859)
The Interior of a Continental Church
Watercolour and pencil
18 by 12.2 cm., 7 by 4 ¾ in.
Cox visited the Continent on three occasions - to Belgium and Holland in 1826 and to France in 1829 and 1832. Stylistically this is likely to date from his first trip to Paris in 1829 in the company of his son and fellow artist David Cox Junior. In Paris they met their friend the Birmingham engraver John Pye who offered to be their guide. On their second day in the city, Cox badly sprained his ankle while descending stairs in the Palais Royal which incapacitated him throughout his six-week stay. Undaunted, he hired a cab which he asked to stop when he found an interesting subject or view and sketched from inside the vehicle or occasionally from a chair. This may explain the rapid, unfinished nature of most of his Paris drawings which number amongst his most impressive and sought after works. Stephen Duffy (op.cit., p.77) describes his French drawings from this trip as `works of exceptional brilliance and vigour.'
A related sketch by Cox, of a similar size, of the door of the church of St Roch in Paris was sold at Sotheby's on 9th July 2009, lot 166.