"Bay of Biscay, Berlingas"

In: Overland Route; Part of our Paintings gallery

Date:
c.1850

Medium:
Watercolour on paper heightened with white bodycolour

Description:
The notorious Bay of Biscay, described by Byron as "sleepless" and its shores as "extremely univiting" by contemporary commentators, was a feat to be endured by early passengers. The 'Berlingas' or 'Burlings', a small group of rocky islands off the Portuguese Coast, are depicted here as sketched from an outward bound P&O steamer in 1850. (Taken from an album of thirty-one watercolours, recording the Diorama of the Overland Mail Route from Southampton to Calcutta, and presented to Brodie McGhie Willcox, one of the founding fathers of P&O.)