Sunset off the coast

Executed in 1841, the present watercolour clearly shows the influence on Richardson by J.M.W. Turner's atmospheric and evocative paintings and watercolours executed and exhibited around the same time as the present watercolour. A hazy golden glow is cast over the choppy waves as the sun goes down over a fisherman bringing in the last of the catch in the foreground, and a ghostly yet imposing frigate beyond. Richardson has used scratching out, a technique that Turner had championed, to create flashes of highlight in the clouds surrounding the blazing sun, and reflected in the water below.