Edward Cooke

Mont Saint-Michel – The Artists – Cooke, Edward William

This page forms part of a series of pages dedicated to the many artists who worked in Mont Saint-Michel. A full list of all the artists with a link to their works can be found at the bottom of this page.

Edward Cooke
Edward Cooke

Movement(s): –

Edward William Cooke (1811 – 1880) was an English landscape and marine painter, and gardener. Cooke was born in London, the son of well-known line engraver George Cooke; his uncle, William Bernard Cooke (1778–1855), was also a line engraver of note, and Edward was raised in the company of artists (like Thomas Boys who was an apprentice of his father).

He was a precocious draughtsman and a skilled engraver from an early age, displayed an equal preference for marine subjects (in special in sailing ships) and published his “Shipping and Craft” – a series of accomplished engravings – when he was 18, in 1829.

He went on to travel and paint with great industry at home and abroad, indulging his love of the 17th-century Dutch marine artists with a visit to the Netherlands in 1837. He returned regularly over the next 23 years, studying the effects of the coastal landscape and light, as well as the works of the country’s Old Masters, resulting in highly successful paintings.

He went on to travel in Scandinavia, Spain, North Africa and, above all, to Venice. He also travelled extensively in Normandy.

Click here to read Cooke’s full bio on Wikipedia.

NOTE: Click on any image below for a bigger version (no new window will open).

1838 - Edward Cooke - Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy
1838 – Edward Cooke – Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy

TODAY: The Mont Saint-Michel, depending on tides, is either an island or a town reachable by a road that is often swamped. Today, the road has been raised and no longer gets wet.

1840 - Edward Cooke - Mont St. Michel, Peasants returning to Pontorson on the Approach of the Tide
1840 – Edward Cooke – Mont St. Michel, Peasants returning to Pontorson on the approach of the tide

NOTE: Pontorson is a small village that lies close to Mont Saint-Michel.

???? - Edward Cooke - Street on Mont St. Michel
???? – Edward Cooke – Street on Mont St. Michel

TODAY: The streets on Mont Saint-Michel are still very narrow, steep and covered in cobblestones.

He painted several other places in France (a link “” will be made to his works in those cities below when they are put online):

The Mont Saint-Michel is a very impressive village, used as backdrop for many artists travelling in the region. Here are the artists that we have found that worked in the area (a link “⇠” will appear next to an artist name when we published their works of art. A “*” next to a name indicates that the artist did NOT work in Mont Saint-Michel itself, but closeby).

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Today: A view from a distance
Today: A view from a distance
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Today: Cobblestone streets
Today: Cobblestone streets
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