Information

This tracing of a fifteenth-century Florentine noblewoman has been copied from one of the illustrations in Camille Bonnard's 'Costumes des XIII, XIV, et XV Siecles,' also known as Bonnard's 'Costume Historique,' first published in Paris between 1829-30. The book comprised of over two hundred plates, engraved by Paul Mercuri, depicting courtiers, clerics and famous figures from the middle ages accompanied by information written by Bonnard. In the mid-nineteenth 'Costume Historique' was known as one of the best sources for British artists and costume designers. The high level of finish and detail found in the book meant it had a strong reputation among the Pre-Raphaelites. Several of their works included figures in costumes taken from 'Costume Historique' and around 1849 Dante Gabriel Rossetti bought a black and white copy. The book was hugely expensive and it seems as if most artists relied on copies in libraries in institutions such as the British Museum and the Royal Academy.Betty Elzea suggests that in the 1850s Sandys was 'making a reference collection by copying or tracing a great variety of details for future use' although she notes 'I have not found evidence that [he] made direct use of any of these tracings in his paintings and drawings' ('Frederick Sandys 1829-1904: A Catalogue Raisonné,' pp. 141-142). The Birmingham collection holds many of these tracings as well as three sheets of costumes sketches on tracing paper copied from 'Costume Historique' by Ford Madox Brown in the mid 1840s (see 1906P737, 1906P738 and 1906P739). See 1906P1037-1065.

  • Purchased and presented by subscribers, 1906.
  • © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

Makers

Association Artist Organisation
Artist Frederick Sandys -

Inscriptions

Type Position(s) Method Date(s) Notes
Noble Florentine / 1300 AD.
Inscription top right Handwritten - Pencil.
 

Literature

Author(s) Date(s) Publisher Pages
Costumes des XIII, XIV, et XV Siecles extrait des monuments des plus authentiques de peinture et de sculpture) dessinés et gravés par Paul Mercuri) avec un texte historique et descriptif par C. Bonnard
Camille Bonnard 1829-1830 Treuttel et Würtz, Paris -
 
City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of Drawings
A E Whitley 1939 Bemrose & Sons Ltd, Derby p. 396
 
Frederick Sandys 1829-1904: A Catalogue Raisonné
Betty Elzea 2001 Antique Collectors' Club in association with Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service No. 1.C.65., pp. 141-142

Provenance

Almost certainly to have been acquired by Charles Fairfax Murray from the artist, or from the sale of the contents of the Sandys family home after the death of Sandys' mother in September 1883 (Elzea).

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