Sunset: A Sketch

Bonington's Sunset: A Sketch from the 1820s is a brilliant atmospheric study that shows him at his most spontaneous and direct — a quickly executed record of a specific quality of evening light that captures the transient atmospheric moment with extraordinary freshness. Such atmospheric oil sketches were central to Bonington's practice and his influence: he showed British and French painters that the oil sketch, previously valued as a preparatory study, could be the primary vehicle for the most authentic atmospheric observation. His sketches influenced Delacroix and Corot and through them the entire development of atmospheric landscape painting in France toward Impressionism.

The oil on canvas shows Bonington's mastery of rapid plein-air technique, with transparent glazes and bold touches of warm color capturing the transient effects of sunset with remarkable spontaneity and economy.