Information
Thomas Chatterton (1752-1770) was an unsuccessful poet whose suicide became a symbol of blighted artistic genius. Wallis used his friend George Meredith (1828-1909), also a struggling writer, as the model. Recent research has questioned whether Chatterton was living in poverty and if his death was suicide or accident (Nick Groom, 2004).When the large painting of this subject was first exhibited as 'Chatterton' at the Royal Academy, Wallis added a quote from Christopher Marlowe: ' Cut is the branch that might have grown straight, And burned is Appollo's laurel bough'. A label on the verso of this painted version reads: The Death of Chatteton/ the original painting/ Study by H Wallis/-'The Marvellous Boy/ The sleepless soul, that perished in his pride'/ Wordsworth.The Birmingham painting is a small version of the final painting which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1856 and now in the collection of Tate. The above verso inscription suggests that this is a study; Another small version is in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art, US which is more likely to be the replica.
- Presented by the Rt Hon William Kendrick, 1918.
- © Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery
Makers
Association |
Artist |
Organisation |
Artist |
Henry Wallis |
- |
Inscriptions
Type |
Position(s) |
Method |
Date(s) |
Notes |
HW |
Monogram |
bottom left |
Handwritten |
- |
brown paint |
|
The Death of Chatterton/ the original paintings/ Study by H. Wallis/ - 'The Marvellous Boy / The sleepless soul, that perished in his pride' / Wordsworth |
Inscription |
reverse |
- |
- |
in ink on label |
|
Exhibitions
Catalogue No. |
Venue |
Date(s) |
Loan Exhibition of Pictures from Birmingham Art Gallery |
46 |
Agnews, London |
1957 - 1957 |
|
Victorian Paintings |
73 |
Nottingham University Art Gallery |
1959-01-20 - 1959-06-21 |
|
19th Century English Art |
46 |
Folkstone Art Gallery |
1965 - 1965 |
|
Victorian Paintings: 1837-1890 |
50 |
Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield |
1968-09 - 1968-11 |
|
Royal Academy of Arts Bicentenary Exhibition 1768-1968 |
393 |
Royal Academy, London |
1968-12-14 - 1968-03-02 |
|
Death, Heaven and the Victorians |
32 |
Brighton Museum and Art Gallery |
1970-05-06 - 1970-08-03 |
|
Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection |
39 |
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington (and Amerian tour) |
1995-03-09 - 1995-05-07 |
|
Fontane und die Bildende Kunst [Theodore Fontane and the Visual Arts] |
70 |
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin |
1998-09-01 - 1998-11-29 |
|
Literature
Author(s) |
Date(s) |
Publisher |
Pages |
The Works of John Ruskin XIV |
|
1903-1912 |
39 vols |
p.60 |
|
Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood |
|
1905 |
London and New York |
vol 2, p.417 |
|
City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham: Catalogue of Paintings |
|
1960 |
City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham |
p.149 |
|
Britain's Paintings - The Story of Art Through Masterpieces in British Collections |
Neil Macgregor |
- |
The Daily Telegraph |
Part 3, p.23 |
|
Visions of Love and Life: Pre-Raphaelite Art from the Birmingham Collection, England |
Stephen Wildman |
1995 |
Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia |
p.156 |
|
Fontane und die Bildende Kunst |
|
1998 |
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin |
p.118, repr.70 |
|
Oil Paintings in Public Ownership in Birmingham |
|
2008 |
Public Catalogue Foundation, London |
p.195 |
Provenance
S. Mendel; sold Christie's, 24 April 1875 (384) 260 guineas; Baron Albert Grant; sold Christie's, 28 April 1877 (129) 150 guineas; Rt. Hon William Kendrick PC; Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, 1918. |
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