Posted:
Tuesday - July 1, 2025
8:35 pm
The Reverend John Louis Petit (1801-68) was a leading writer and speaker about ecclesiastical architecture, and an extraordinary watercolour artist. In his day church architecture and restoration were intensely debated topics. Petit was the leading opponent of the neo-Gothic of the time, and a pioneer of preserving old buildings against destructive restoration well before that became accepted. Yet even his critics valued the numerous beautiful illustrations in watercolour that he brought back from his travels to all parts of the UK, Europe and the Middle East to complement his lectures and writing. Petit never sold his art in his lifetime. The entire hoard held by descendants emerged in the last 30 years and can only now start to be appreciated.
Further details of the Exhibition, a related symposium and a celebratory choral evensong can be found at https://profchrisbaker.com/john-louis-petit-an-introduction/ and the linked pages.