Tiger Moth 1942

Eric Ravilious made this watercolor painting, titled "Tiger Moth," sometime before his death in 1942. Ravilious was a master of the watercolor medium, embracing its inherent qualities of transparency and fluidity to create a dream-like, evocative scene. See how he allows the paper’s surface to shine through, giving the image a luminosity that feels very English, in its own way very modern. The seemingly simple technique belies Ravilious’s skill: notice the detailed rendering of the Tiger Moth airplane, its delicate structure and bright yellow wings contrasting with the muted tones of the landscape. Ravilious was working as a war artist at the time, and while this image has a nostalgic quality, there's also a clear-eyed appreciation of technological power here. The carefully delineated forms of the aircraft and the regimented furrows in the field suggest the increasing mechanization of both warfare and agriculture. By focusing on the materials and techniques employed in this artwork, we can gain a deeper understanding of Ravilious’s artistic vision and its cultural context.