Jean-Michel Cels, 'Sky Study with Birds', 1842
About the work
Overview
Artists had made 'plein-air' or open-air studies of the sky since the 17th century. It was recommended practice that artists should sketch the changing patterns in the sky at several times of day and in various weather conditions, in order to capture it in all its moods. Here Cels has painted billowing clouds against a blue sky, with two birds wheeling in the breeze.
The inscription on the reverse indicates that the pigment was thinned with a kind of turpentine.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Sky Study with Birds
- Artist
- Jean-Michel Cels
- Artist dates
- 1819 - 1894
- Date made
- 1842
- Medium and support
- Oil and chalk on paper laid on canvas
- Dimensions
- 26.6 × 37.3 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery
- Inventory number
- L808
- Location
- Room 39
- Image copyright
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery, © Private collection 2000. Used by permission
- Collection
- Main Collection
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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