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The Old Church, Dieppe
The Old Church, Dieppe

The Old Church, Dieppe

Artist (1860 - 1942)
Datec. 1898-1905
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions33 x 41 cm
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery. Lane Gift, 1912.
Object number16
DescriptionWalter Sickert was of Danish, German and Irish extraction. His family arrived in London in 1868. At first Sickert took up acting, but decided to become a painter. After a short period at the Slade, he entered the studio of James McNeill Whistler. From Whistler, he received introductions to many French Impressionists in Paris and at Dieppe. He spent from 1898 to 1904 in the town of Dieppe, seeing it as a second home after London. He adored painting the façade of the medieval church of Saint Jacques, showing it from various angles and at different times of the year, much in the vein of Claude Monet's study of Rouen Cathedral, fully exploring all aspects of the motif under scrutiny. In this painting, the view takes in the rue du Mortier, which is to the back of the church. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sickert's palette was excessively gloomy. This gloominess seems to have been a philosophical attitude consciously cultivated by the artist. The subject matter of his compositions lent itself deliberately towards sombre tones, subdued colouring and low lighting, linking his art very much to the literature of Émile Zola, who conjured up naturalistic scenes of gloom.
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