Edward William Cocks (b. 1803) - 1837 Oil The Hermitage

Description

A beautiful early 19th Century landscape showing a dramatic mountain path with a treacherous ravine to one side. Two small figures make their journey up the mountain towards a small hermitage at the left and an ominous, dilapidated crucifix stands in the foreground to the right. The scene has an air of menace and foreboding. The artist has signed to the lower left corner (obscured by the frame). The painting has been handsomely presented in a fine walnut veneer frame from the 19th Century, boasting gilt effect acanthus leaf corners and molded inner window. The artist has faintly dated at the reverse and there is a supplier's label at the reverse of the board that confirms the date of this painting. On board.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including some discolouration. There is a small area of dirtying at the upper right corner and a paint loss to the lower left. There is slight bowing to the board. The frame has some tarnishing and splitting at the inner corners.

Size

20 x 17cm (7.9" x 6.7")

Artist Biography

Edward William Cocks (born c. 1803) was a British painter employed as a scenic artist at Vauxhall Gardens. He is now known for his paintings of balloon ascents.
Large-scale painting was an innovation at Vauxhall Gardens tried in 1823, with a 24 metre high picture of the Bay of Naples as an attraction, used as background for a firework display. In 1828 Cocks showed a six-picture diorama at Vauxhall Gardens, on the River Rhine. He presented also a "Hydroptic Exhibition" at the Gardens, in a tradition of elaborate water features set by R. Morris, who worked for the stage with Charles Dibdin the younger. Involving fire as well as water, it was an allegory of naval supremacy. Advertising for the season's opening that year included "The Scenery, with various paintings and many New Cosmoramas, dispersed about the Gardens, by Mr. Cocks and Assistants."


In 1834 the Gardens celebrated the return of the second Ross expedition with a display including allegorical icebergs, advertised as "Principal Artist:Mr. Cocks, Principal Machinist:Mr. Lowe". For the Arctic display or "cosmorama", Cocks and three assistants worked from Ross's own drawings. In 1836 Cocks painted a diorama of the new Palace of Westminster for the Gardens. The year 1838 saw a revival of the Ross panorama with its whales, bears and intrepid boat expeditions.