Spotlight on John Robert Cozens

An exclusive talk for Members of the Ashmolean.
With Timothy Wilcox, writer, curator, and lecturer.
Booking is essential.

The British painter John Robert Cozens (1752–1797), known for his romantic watercolour landscapes, worked for two of the most eccentric and exacting patrons of the late 18th century, Richard Payne Knight and William Beckford.

The Ashmolean has marvellous examples of Cozens’ watercolours for both of these patrons, which we will explore along with famous scenes in the Roman Campagna painted for other wealthy clients.

Cozens’ career was cut tragically short by mental illness and he died in 1797 at the age of only 45. Hugely admired by Turner, Girtin and Constable, Cozens ushered in the Romantic movement in watercolour, but was the emphasis on emotion in his work achieved at the expense of his own sanity?

The talk will be recorded and shared with ticketholders following the event.