John Phillip : Landscapes in Colored Pencil, Spanish Light, and Lasting Value

An Early Self-Portrait
John Phillip, Public domain, via Wikimedia
Commons {{PD-US}} 

INTRODUCTION

The story of 19th-century British art is incomplete without acknowledging the brilliant work of John Phillip (1817–1867). 

Born in Aberdeen and trained in London, Phillip initially gained recognition for his detailed and charming Scottish domestic scenes, following in the footsteps of Sir David Wilkie.

However, his artistic direction was completely transformed by several trips to Spain. There, he was captivated by the luminous light of Andalusia and the vibrant rhythms of Spanish life. 

He absorbed the powerful influence of masters like Velázquez and Murillo, which led him to abandon his earlier style. This shift to painting Spanish subjects with a rich, colorful palette earned him the nickname "Spanish Phillip" and cemented his legacy as a pivotal figure in British art. His dramatic work masterfully captured the passion and vibrancy of Spain, showcasing a remarkable evolution from his early roots.

This shift gave rise to his nickname, “Spanish Phillip.”

Landscape with Lake - Pencil Drawing
John Phillip, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

While his best-known works were in oil, his method and approach lend themselves beautifully to a discussion of how his landscapes might be imagined through the medium of colored pencil. 

The pencil, as a tool, offers immediacy, intimacy, and portability—qualities that align closely with Phillip’s working process as he roamed streets, courtyards, and countryside. 

By examining his landscapes, both real and reconstructed through the lens of colored pencil, we can understand not only his artistic brilliance but also how his works are valued, where they are displayed, and why they continue to resonate.

The Appeal of the Colored Pencil in the Hands of John Phillip

Landscale - Pencil Drawing
John Phillip, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Colored pencils may not have been the dominant medium of Phillip’s time, yet the qualities they embody echo the methods he employed in oils and sketches. 

For Phillip, who loved capturing fleeting light and spontaneous gestures, colored pencils would have provided:

1. Precision in Detail—From the lace mantillas of Seville to the rugged walls of Andalusian streets, colored pencil lines would allow him to define edges while still softening into atmospheric shading.

2. Ease and Portability—On his journeys through Spain, the immediacy of pencils would have enabled him to capture quick impressions later developed into finished paintings.

3. Layering and Luminosity—Colored pencils excel at layering translucent tones, an approach Phillip already practiced in oils, giving depth to the sun-washed walls and shadowed courtyards of his Spanish compositions.

4. Emotional Resonance—By blending warm earth tones with brilliant accents, Phillip could highlight the human stories in his landscapes, just as he did in oils.

In short, though oil was his chosen medium, Phillip’s artistry aligns naturally with the colored pencil aesthetic. His vibrancy of palette and ability to tell stories through setting makes it easy to imagine his landscapes executed with this medium.

Themes in Phillip’s Landscape Works

Phillip’s landscapes—whether imagined in pencil or rendered in oil—fall broadly into several themes:

• Street Life and Courtyards: Many of his compositions use architectural space as both stage and character, with Spanish plazas, market squares, or shaded courtyards providing atmosphere.

• Cultural Rituals: From wakes to fairs, landscapes often double as cultural narratives, showing how environment reflects community.

• Emotion and Everyday Life: His landscapes rarely sit empty; they are populated with figures, suggesting how people and places intertwine.

• Light and Shadow: Perhaps his most distinctive hallmark is his control of illumination, inspired by Spanish masters. Landscapes come alive through contrast: blazing sun against deep shadow, gold against grey, warm terracotta against sky-blue.

The Use of Color

Phillip’s palette evolved dramatically over his career:

• In his early Scottish works, he leaned on muted browns, greys, and earthy greens.

• After Spain, he embraced fiery reds, glowing yellows, and radiant whites offset by velvet blacks.

• His coloring was not only descriptive but also symbolic: warmth for life and ritual, shadows for drama, and pale highlights for innocence or spiritual light.

Colored pencils, with their ability to lay down subtle gradations, would have been a natural match for his approach, allowing both precision and luminosity.

Value and Display of His Works

Phillip’s works were treasured in his own lifetime. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert acquired several of his Spanish paintings, including The Letter Writer of Seville and The Dying Contrabandista. His art now resides in important public collections:

• Royal Collection: Paintings at Osborne House and Windsor.

• National Galleries of Scotland: Including La Gloria.

• Bury Art Museum: Holds his Drawing for the Militia.

• Hospitalfield House: His self-portrait, The Evil Eye.

• Art UK Partner Galleries: Various works distributed across the UK.

At auctions, his pieces command respect, with collectors valuing not only their historical importance but also their rich storytelling and painterly brilliance. The fact that his art appealed to both royalty and public audiences reflects its lasting value.

Five Key Landscape Works (Explored Through a Colored Pencil Lens)

To understand Phillip’s contribution, let us turn to five works, analyzing their themes, use of color and imagining how they might translate into the medium of colored pencil.

The Letter Writer of Seville (1854)
John Phillip, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. The Letter Writer of Seville (1854)

This painting depicts a professional letter writer assisting clients in a sunlit Sevillian courtyard. The composition balances architecture, figures, and the quiet dignity of everyday life.

• Themes: Communication, literacy, and community set against a Spanish backdrop.

• Colors: Warm ochres of walls, white lace mantillas, soft brown dog resting nearby.

• Pencil Version: Colored pencils would allow fine rendering of lace, delicate shading of stone walls, and layering of sun-gold light.

Exhibited at the Royal Academy and in Paris, the painting’s “brilliant colouring” was widely praised. Prince Albert acquired it, ensuring its preservation in the Royal Collection.

The Dying Contrabandista
John Phillip, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

2. The Dying Contrabandista (1858)

A dramatic scene of a smuggler dying in his lover’s arms, with comrades standing guard near a shaded window.

• Themes: Passion, mortality, and loyalty, framed in a Spanish interior landscape.

• Colors: Deep reds of the cloak, pale skin of the dying figure, stark shadows.

• Pencil Version: Rich layering of crimson, cross-hatched shadows, and delicate blending to create atmosphere.

Purchased by Queen Victoria for 650 guineas, this work became one of Phillip’s most admired Spanish scenes.

3. The Early Career of Murillo (1864)

Here, Phillip imagines a youthful Bartolomé Esteban Murillo selling his works in a Spanish market square.

• Themes: Art, commerce, and cultural pride set in a bustling landscape.

• Colors: Terracotta roofs, bright clothing of buyers, soft blue Andalusian sky.

• Pencil Version: The medium would highlight textures of pottery, fabrics, and cobblestones with refined detail.

This work reflects Phillip’s deep engagement with Spanish artistic heritage, linking his own art to the legacy of Murillo.

4. La Gloria (1865)

Perhaps Phillip’s most emotionally powerful Spanish painting, La Gloria depicts a wake for a child, illuminated by candlelight.

• Themes: Grief, ritual, and spirituality in a domestic Spanish interior.

• Colors: Golden glow of candles, shadowed corners, pale face of the child.

• Pencil Version: Soft layers of amber and sepia, with controlled highlights to capture both sorrow and reverence.

Housed in the National Gallery of Scotland, this painting illustrates Phillip’s mastery of emotional storytelling through environment and color.

5. Andalusian Street Sketches (Hypothetical Colored-Pencil Studies)

While not preserved as formal works, Phillip undoubtedly sketched Andalusian courtyards, markets, and landscapes during his travels.

• Themes: Everyday life—women at fountains, children playing, vendors in sunlit alleys.

• Colors: Bright geraniums, terracotta walls, crisp whitewashed stone against Mediterranean blue skies.

• Pencil Version: Quick, vivid strokes with portable colored pencils would capture immediacy, spontaneity, and texture.

Though speculative, these imagined colored-pencil sketches align perfectly with his known process of observing, sketching, and later refining in oils.

Why His Work Resonates Today

Phillip’s art, whether viewed in oil or imagined in colored pencil, resonates because:

• It bridges cultures, bringing Spanish life vividly to British audiences.

• It captures universal emotions: love, grief, community, artistry.

• It balances narrative depth with technical brilliance in light and color.

• It remains valued, both financially and culturally, in major collections.

Modern viewers, accustomed to portable media like photography or digital sketching, can appreciate how Phillip might have thrived with colored pencils—using them as immediate tools to record impressions, later expanding into finished masterpieces.

Conclusion: John Phillip’s Colored-Pencil Legacy

Though John Phillip’s primary medium was oil, the colored-pencil perspective enriches our appreciation of his landscapes. The qualities of the pencil—precision, ease, layering, and intimacy—align with his strengths: detailed observation, emotional resonance, and luminous storytelling.

From The Letter Writer of Seville to La Gloria, Phillip’s works reveal how landscape and figure merge into cultural narratives suffused with light and color. Imagined through colored pencils, his art becomes even more accessible, offering a vision of Spanish life that is both immediate and timeless.

Today, his works are valued not only for their monetary worth but also for their enduring cultural significance, displayed in royal palaces, national galleries, and respected museums. As collectors and audiences continue to rediscover “Spanish Phillip,” his landscapes remain a testament to the power of art to cross borders, bridge traditions, and speak to universal human experience.

In this light, John Phillip stands not just as a Victorian painter of Spanish scenes but as an artist whose vision—whether in oil or pencil—continues to illuminate the landscapes of history, culture, and human emotion.