‘Vesuvius in Eruption’ (1817?20) by JMW Turner
The Watercolour World is an ambitious online project to digitise the world?s watercolours and rescue this all-too-often overlooked but artistically and historically significant medium from being forgotten. It is creating a wealth of riches for all of us, says Michael Brooks
Fred Hohler describes the idea as ?blindingly obvious? in hindsight. Having spearheaded the creation of a digital record of the United Kingdom?s oil paintings, the former diplomat soon realised his Public Catalogue Foundation had left an ?orphan? collection of watercolours in dark drawers, cabinets and basements across the world.
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Now, though, these paintings are emerging, blinking, into the light. The Watercolour World is a rapidly growing website that hosts digital reproductions of watercolours from around the world. Even in these early days ? the site?s official launch was in January 2019 ? it has become an engrossing collection. Whether you are captivated by an 1840 view of Kings Cross as a rubbish dump ? the ?Great Dustheap? ? or sailors chasing a slave ship near Zanzibar in 1876, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of riches is coming into view. ?I have a new favourite about four times a day,? Hohler admits. Watercolour is often passed over as an unimportant medium, despite the fact that Ruskin, Gainsborough, Turner and Constable all used it at various times. ?The lower status of watercolour wa...