Longevity of Watercolor?
I recently viewed (online) a watercolor painted by Thomas Eakins in 1870 and another by Auguste Allonge in 1860 and found them rather ethereal...beautiful, light colors. Knowing that we seek to pay attention to the lightfastedness ratings of our pigments, I wonder at the life span of older watercolor paintings. Am I seeing those early paintings as they were or just as they are now, 150-160 years later. I have 3 original watercolors of scenes in Scotland in my home that were passed down to me by my grandfather. He came from Glasgow to the US in 1906 and brought his Scottish bride over in 1914. Two were wedding presents in 1914 signed by a James Allan and one came over later from Robert MacBride in 1920. I have gone on Google street-view from the A81 bridge over the River Teith in Callander and can see the same view as it looks today that MacBride captured, which is fun! But I don't know where Allan painted so if anyone recognizes the location, let me know! I'm including photos, regretting some reflection in the glass. The two by Allan have somewhat 'off' coloring to me, which doesn't show so much in these photos. I've often wondered if that is the way he painted them and meant them to be, or has time affected them? And yet, I hope my paintings look so good in 110 years.
Lovely things to have and cherish. I like to imagine the thought processes painters from the past had, along with their personal development paths. and how they saw the world around them. The marks they made in response to the scene in front of them. We will appreciate where they had their own struggles, and perhaps over painted here and there. As fellow artists we can connect with them in a practical hands-on way as well as in with a purely aesthetic appreciation.