Ruined Tomb Inscribed "A.M.G."
1776 to 1800
Medium
graphite on tan paper
Dimensions
Overall: 20.1 x 27.5 cm (7 15/16 x 10 13/16 in.) support: 26.3 x 38 cm (10 3/8 x 14 15/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1951.16.184
Art Historical Context
John Sell Cotman, a leading figure in Britain's Norwich School of artists, crafted *Ruined Tomb InscribedA.M.G."* between 1776 and 1800 using graphite on tan paper. intimate drawing, measuring 20.1 x 27.5 cm, captures the weathered elegance of a decayed tombstone, its inscription hinting at a personal memorial amid architectural decay. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosen Collection (Department CG-E), it exemplifies Cotman's early mastery of precise line work and tonal subtlety on unconventional supports like tan paper, which lent a warm, earthy glow to his studies. Cotman's style em...
About the Artist
John Sell Cotman · 1782–1842
John Sell Cotman (1782–1842) was one of the most original and technically innovative English watercolorists of his generation, a central figure of the Norwich School whose bold, flattened compositions and luminous washes of color place him among the most modern-feeling of early nineteenth-century British artists. Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Cotman moved to London as a young man and studied in the ci...