Interior at Furlongs 1931

Eric Ravilious made this watercolour painting, Interior at Furlongs, using short, hatched marks that create this gentle, hushed feeling. You can really feel the quiet of the room, like the sound has been muffled, or absorbed by the walls. There’s such a lovely contrast between the warm colours of the landscape viewed through the window, and the interior, which is made up of cool blues, greys and whites. Check out the surface texture, created by the tiny strokes of the brush – it almost looks like it’s been printed. Look at how Ravilious uses this technique to pick out the different textures and surfaces in the room: the brick floor, the rough walls, and the smooth door. It makes me think of Edward Hopper, another artist who makes you feel the silence of a room. There’s no single way to read this image; it’s more about atmosphere, a collection of subtle observations that add up to an evocative impression of a place.