Decorative Sketch - Venus reclining on a Shell in the midst of the Sea
1848 – 1849
Accession number: 1906P741
Brown pen and ink over pencil on paper.
Width: 220 mm
Height: 231 mm
Information
It has not been possible to identify the project related to these sketches. However, it is an interesting sheet of drawings because it allows further insight into Brown's working process. Intially Brown worked out the composition in pencil, going over and over the figures and landscape until it is almost impossible to see the deisgn. He then clarified the sketch by drawing over it in sepia ink. Having gone over a figure again and again, Brown found it necessary to redraw the figure of Venus separately on a clean section of the page. Other early sketches using this same technique can be seen on the reverse of sketches for 'King Lear ' also in the Birmingham collection(1906P754 and 1906P755). LM
- Purchased and presented by subscribers, 1906.
- © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
Makers
| Association | Artist | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Artist | Ford Madox Brown | - |
Inscriptions
| Type | Position(s) | Method | Date(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford M Brown London/48 | ||||
| Signature and date | middle right | Handwritten | 1848 | Number may be 49 as he has corrected it and it is difficult to tell whether the inscription is 48 or 49.. Brown ink. |
Literature
| Author(s) | Date(s) | Publisher | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: Catalogue of the Permanent Collection of Drawings | |||
| A E Whitley | 1939 | Bemrose & Sons Ltd, Derby | p. 47 |
| Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite | |||
| Laura MacCulloch, Tessa Sidey | 2008 | D. Giles Limited, London | p. 66 |
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