Stephen
Wiltshire, who was described by Sir Hugh Casson as 'possibly the best child
artist in Britain' is autistic. His genius was brought to the public's
attention when he featured in a BBC QED documentary on autistic children in
1987. His amazing ability is to capture perspective and mood, particularly in
buildings, with extraordinary accuracy.
He very often completes the picture away from the site having first made a few
pencil 'memory sketches'.
Floating Cities represents sixteen-year-old Stephen's artistic response to a
'Grand Tour' of Europe. The architectural refinement of a bygone Venetian
Republic is juxtaposed to the solid merchant spirit of the Northern
Reinaissance as seen in Amsterdam. The barbaric vitality and energy of Moscow
is set against that epitome of elegance, Leningrad - so often called 'the
Venice of the North'.
These drawings testify to an assured draughtsmanship and an ability to convey
complex perspective with consummate ease. But more importantly, they reveal his
mysterious creative ability to capture the sensibility of a building and that
which determines its character and its voice. It is this genius which sets him
apart and confers upon him the staus of artist.
For a child who was once locked within the prisonhouse of his own private world,
unable to speak, incapable of responding to others, this thrilling development
of language, laughter and art is a miracle.
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