Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
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Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/john-brett-53" aria-label="More by John Brett" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">John Brett</a>
British Channel Seen Dorsetshire Cliffs
Presented by Mrs Brett 1902
boat, sailing
cloud
Dorset
England
England, South West
England, Southern
English Channel
places
sea
seascapes and coasts
society
sunbeam
transport: water
UK counties
UK countries and regions
UK natural features
wave
weather
<p>Brett based this painting on detailed notes on colour and changes in the weather. He made these as he sailed round the south-west coast of England in the summer of 1870. However, the precise location of this view has not been confirmed so far. The patterns formed by the sunlight on the sea are the main focus of the painting. Brett had studied this effect closely and aimed to reproduce it accurately. Yet, when the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy at the time, some viewers found Brett’s range of blues too vivid to be truly faithful to nature.</p><p><em>Gallery label, November 2019</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
12 February 2004 – 9 January 2005
2005-01-09
12 February 2004 – 3 May 2004
2004-05-03
2004-02-12
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
11 June 2004 – 5 September 2004
2004-09-05
2004-06-11
Alte Nationalgalerie (Berlin, Germany)
28 September 2004 – 9 January 2005
2005-01-09
2004-09-28
Fundació “la Caixa” (Madrid, Spain)
2004-02-12
Pre-Raphaelite Vision: Truth to Nature
Exhibition
11 December 2006 – 2 December 2007
2007-12-02
1 December 2006 – 2 December 2007
2007-12-02
2006-12-01
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
15 March 2008 – 7 June 2008
2008-06-07
2008-03-15
Penlee House Gallery & Museum (Penzance, UK)
2006-12-11
James Clarke Hook and Painters of the Sea
Collection based display
15 March 2008 – 7 June 2008
2008-06-07
15 March 2008 – 7 June 2008
2008-06-07
2008-03-15
Penlee House Gallery & Museum (Penzance, UK)
2008-03-15
Sea and Coasts
Loan-out
25 October 2012 – 27 January 2013
2013-01-27
25 October 2012 – 27 January 2013
2013-01-27
2012-10-25
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon, Portugal)
2012-10-25
The Ages of The Sea
Loan-out
11 February 2013 – 2 June 2013
2013-06-02
12 February 2013 – 2 June 2013
2013-06-02
2013-02-12
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2013-02-11
Looking at the View
Collection based display
14 December 2018 – 19 September 2021
2021-09-19
14 December 2018 – 28 April 2019
2019-04-28
2018-12-14
National Gallery of Australia (Canberra, Australia)
19 June 2019 – 6 October 2019
2019-10-06
2019-06-19
Palazzo Reale (Milan, Italy)
2018-12-14
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Tate partnerships & programmes
8 June 2021 – 14 January 2024
2024-01-14
8 July 2021 – 14 November 2021
2021-11-14
2021-07-08
Museum of Art Pudong (Shanghai, China)
20 December 2021 – 8 May 2022
2022-05-08
2021-12-20
Buk-Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, South Korea)
15 June 2022 – 13 November 2022
2022-11-13
2022-06-15
ACMI (Melbourne, Australia)
25 February 2023 – 25 June 2023
2023-06-25
2023-02-25
Auckland Art Gallery (Auckland, New Zealand)
12 July 2023 – 2 October 2023
2023-10-02
2023-07-12
National Art Center (Tokyo, Japan)
26 October 2023 – 14 January 2024
2024-01-14
2023-10-26
Nakanoshima Museum of Art (Osaka, Japan)
2021-06-08
Light
Tate partnerships & programmes
20 March 2025 – 12 October 2025
2025-10-12
20 March 2025 – 12 October 2025
2025-10-12
2025-03-20
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Arts (Kaunas, Lithuania)
2025-03-20
From Ambers to the Stars
Loan-out
The British Channel Seen from the Dorsetshire Cliffs
support: 1060 × 2127 mm
frame: 1390 × 2458 × 121 mm
Presented by Mrs Brett 1902
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<p>Brett based this painting on detailed notes on colour and changes in the weather. He made these as he sailed round the south-west coast of England in the summer of 1870. However, the precise location of this view has not been confirmed so far. The patterns formed by the sunlight on the sea are the main focus of the painting. Brett had studied this effect closely and aimed to reproduce it accurately. Yet, when the painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy at the time, some viewers found Brett’s range of blues too vivid to be truly faithful to nature.</p>
</div>

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2019-11-14T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
boat, sailing cloud Dorset England England, Southern England, South West English Channel places sea seascapes and coasts society sunbeam transport: water UK counties UK countries and regions UK natural features wave weather