Artwork
Lightning - from San Marino (Italy)
Lightning - from San Marino (Italy) is a watercolor work on paper by the Contemporary Abstract artist Maurice Sheppard. It dates from 1976 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Maurice Sheppard painted Lightning – from San Marino in 1975–76.
It’s a watercolour, not a big oil painting or print.
That tells you the artist used fine brushes and quick, light strokes to catch a storm.
Sheppard studied art in London.
He learned etching first, then switched to painting.
This work shows his lifelong habit of watching landscapes closely.
Look up the artist Sheppard, Maurice.
Overview
“Lightning – from San Marino” is a watercolour created by British artist Maurice Sheppard during 1975–76. Executed on paper with transparent pigments, the work captures a fleeting storm over the Italian micro‑state, focusing on the sudden flash of lightning against a darkened sky. The composition is compact, emphasizing the immediacy of the atmospheric event rather than a detailed landscape.
Subject & Meaning
The painting records a moment of natural drama: a bolt of lightning striking amid clouds over San Marino. By isolating this brief, energetic occurrence, Sheppard underscores the power and transience of weather, inviting viewers to contemplate the fleeting yet striking forces that shape the environment.
Technique & Style
Sheppard employed fine brushes and swift, light strokes characteristic of watercolour, allowing the pigment to flow and dry quickly, mirroring the rapidity of a storm. The limited palette of muted tones punctuated by bright white highlights conveys both the gloom of the sky and the sudden illumination of the lightning, demonstrating his skill in controlling transparency and contrast.
History & Provenance
The San Marino watercolour reflects his post‑academic period, when he began focusing on landscape observation.
Born in 1947 in Llangwm, Pembrokeshire, Sheppard studied at Kingston-upon-Thames (1967–70) and the Royal College of Art (1970–73), initially training in etching before turning to painting. The San Marino watercolour reflects his post‑academic period, when he began focusing on landscape observation. The work remains in a private collection, having circulated through exhibitions of his early watercolours.
Artist & collection
Artist
Maurice Sheppard painted quiet, intimate watercolors of gardens, storms, and landscapes.
