Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Landscape with Donkey, 1846

Landscape with Donkey
E.J. Verboeckhoven
Belgium, 1846
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Belgian painter Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven (1798-1881) was learned the principles of art at the knee of his father, the sculptor Barthélemy Verboeckhoven. Later, he attended the Ghent Academy where he was a pupil of the landscape painter Balthasar-Paul Ommeganck (1755-1826). By 1827, the artist had become the director of the Musée de Bruxelles and later a teacher at the Académie Royale.

Verboeckhoven was known for his careful depictions of animals silhouetted against flat landscapes. This painting from 1846 is an excellent example of his style. Here, we see a donkey set against a white and blue sky. This same donkey appears in several of Verboeckhoven’s compositions. Obviously, he was a favorite subject of the artist.

Mastery of Design: The Fabergé Donkey, 1907

Donkey
Chalcedony and Rose-cut Diamonds
1907-1910
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

A masterwork of chalcedony and rose-cut diamonds, this donkey was created at Fabergé's London branch. While some contend that this was part of King Edward VII’s epic Sandringham Commission which was intended as a gift for his Consort, Queen Alexandra, there’s more evidence to support the idea that this donkey was purchased in 1910 by King George V (1865-1936) as a present for Queen Mary.

Some contend that this figure was meant to symbolize a favorite pet from Sandringham—an Italian donkey who was kept on the estate to pull a little carriage for the little Princes and Princess.

Figure of the Day: A Donkey Stealing Carrots, c. 1925

A Donkey Stealing Carrots
Stella R. Crofts, 1925-1930
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When I first began writing about this earthenware figure from about 1925, I misread the title from the listing in the V&A and was under the mistaken impression that the piece was called, “A Donkey Selling Carrots.” This caused me to wonder why and how an ass would sell carrots. Wouldn’t a mule be more inclined to eat carrots, to take them? Well, yes. As it turns out, the name of this “maiolica”-glazed piece is actually “A Donkey Stealing Carrots.” This makes considerably more sense. 


Made in Ilford, England between 1925 and 1930, the figure depicts a boy on a donkey who is in the process of stealing carrots. This is the work of Stella R. Crofts. A version of this figure was shown in the Government Pavilion of the Paris 1925 Exhibition. The model design was later sold by Crofts to Worcester in 1931, who reproduced the group under the considerably less interesting title “Boy with Donkey.”

Painting of the Day: Landscape with Donkey, 1846

Landscape with Donkey
E.J. Verboeckhoven
Belgium, 1846
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Belgian painter Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven (1798-1881) was learned the principles of art at the knee of his father, the sculptor Barthélemy Verboeckhoven. Later, he attended the Ghent Academy where he was a pupil of the landscape painter Balthasar-Paul Ommeganck (1755-1826). By 1827, the artist had become the director of the Musée de Bruxelles and later a teacher at the Académie Royale.

Verboeckhoven was known for his careful depictions of animals silhouetted against flat landscapes. This painting from 1846 is an excellent example of his style. Here, we see a donkey set against a white and blue sky. This same donkey appears in several of Verboeckhoven’s compositions. Obviously, he was a favorite subject of the artist.