Drawing of the Day: Punchinello with Dumpling or Fritter, c. 1796-1770

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this drawing of pen and brown ink has been accented with a sepia wash.  Beneath this, traces of the original sketch of pencil and black chalk can be seen.  

Dating to about 1796-1770, this is the work of a member of  the Circle of famed Italian artist  Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, Venice 1696–1770 Madrid).  Entitled "Punchinello with Dumpling or Fritter."  I think that's a lovely idea.

Tiepolo and his followers often depicted Punchinello in various situations, often showing multiple Punchinellos or whole families of them at a time.

Masterpiece of the Week: The Russell Square Puppet Show, 1827

Click on image to enlarge
View of Russell Square with a Puppet Show
Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1827
The British Museum

This drawing of pen and brown wash on paper dates to 1827 and is the work of Thomas Hosmer Shepherd. The scene gives us a view of Russell Square with the statue of the Duke of Bedford prominent on the left. 

In the square, a crowd has gathered to watch a puppet show. The bottler draws attention to the show by beating a large drum. His efforts clearly work because we see that a mother will two children are about to join the crowd.

This drawing was once part of the collection of Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford. It gives us a rare topographical representation of a part of London which has changed considerably over time.

Drawing of the Day: Fairies Rescuing a Bird, 1920-1925

Click on image to enlarge.
"Fairies Rescuing a Bird"
Margaret Tempest, 1920-1925
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Margaret Tempest (1892-1982), the celebrated English illustrator, began her career in the 1920s and became known as the creator of the beloved children’s book characters “Little Grey Rabbit” and “Fuzzypeg the Hedgehog.” The stories were written by Alison Uttley with illustrations by Margaret Tempest whose drawings graved the first thirty stories from 1929 until 1970.

Uttley and Tempest often debated between themselves about which of them could take the most credit for the success of the characters. However, it wasn’t the usual artistic struggle. In fact, each credited the other for the creation of the characters who had become household names.

Most agree, however, that the stories were given a special kind of life because of Tempest’s subtle watercolor drawings.

Here’s an interesting example of Margaret Tempest’s delicate work. In this watercolor, pen and ink drawing, we see fairies attempting to rescue a bird from a basket work cage. The artist’s gentle hand shows in the tones of the fairies’ wings and her ability to capture a moment of effort makes the painting seem as if we have been given a glance into a new world.

The drawing dates between 1920 and 1925. 

Drawing of the Day: Punchinello with Dumpling or Fritter, c. 1796-1770

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this drawing of pen and brown ink has been accented with a sepia wash.  Beneath this, traces of the original sketch of pencil and black chalk can be seen.  

Dating to about 1796-1770, this is the work of a member of  the Circle of famed Italian artist  Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, Venice 1696–1770 Madrid).  Entitled "Punchinello with Dumpling or Fritter."  I think that's a lovely idea.

Tiepolo and his followers often depicted Punchinello in various situations, often showing multiple Punchinellos or whole families of them at a time.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Punch and Muffins Academy

The British Museum

I would like to attend the "Punch and Muffins Academy," especially if the Punch in question is Mr. Punch.  Here, from between 1820 and 1825, we see a design for a card which features a drawing of Mr. Punch seated on inverted bowl, at a table eating from another bowl.

The work of pen and gray ink was drawn by Edward Hull and is inscribed: 

"Punch and Muffins Academy by NED HULL Poplar Grove, Oval, Kennington."

Drawing of the Day: A Ball Scene, c. 1595-1605

A Ball Scene
Jacob Matham, 1595-1605
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This work of pen and brown ink is finished with a wash of brown and grey and touches of red and white chalk to add depth. The sketch is attributed to Jacob Matham (1571-1631) and it was acquired by King George III (1738-1820) around 1810, about two hundred years after it was created.

The scene depicts a Renaissance-style room inhabited by an elegant party engaged in an elegant dance. As this is likely a cartoon for a later painting, the sketch is somewhat rough and displays a rather inconsistent perspective.

The drawing has long been the subject of much interest, in large part because of the rather eerie appearance of some of the figures. Their ghostly look, it was discovered, owes to over-painting which changed their position—their original poses bleeding through the white gouache which was used to cover them.

There’s also a problem with the signature. While the piece is signed by Matham, it is also inscribed, “Venice (vinetia), 1605.” This is problematic in that, in 1605, Matham was in Haarlem. He visited Venice in 1595, not 1605. Furthermore, the room in the composition is clearly not Venetian.

Also, the size of the piece is not consistent with Matham’s other works.

For these reasons, some question the veracity of the attribution to Matham. Still, it’s likely that the artist produced the piece ten years after his Venetian trip in an effort to remember what he’d seen as well as to capitalize on the growing popularity of ballroom scenes.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: General Sir Garnet Wolseley at Alexandria, 1882-1901

Click on image for larger size
General Sir Garnet Wolseley at Alexandria
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Created in Egypt between 1882 and 1901, this drawing is the work of Orlando Norie (1832-1901). The work of pencil, pen, ink and watercolor has been accented with white gouache.

The illustration shows General Sir Garnet Wolseley who, aside from having a nifty name, landed in Alexandria on August 16, 1882. There, he took command of the British military campaign which was set against the revolutionary forces of Arabi Pasha. And, thus began the British occupation of Egypt. Depicted here are the General and his men at their arrival in Alexandria.

Drawing of the Day: General Sir Garnet Wolseley at Alexandria, 1882-1901

Click on image for larger size
General Sir Garnet Wolseley at Alexandria
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Created in Egypt between 1882 and 1901, this drawing is the work of Orlando Norie (1832-1901). The work of pencil, pen, ink and watercolor has been accented with white gouache.

The illustration shows General Sir Garnet Wolseley who, aside from having a nifty name, landed in Alexandria on August 16, 1882. There, he took command of the British military campaign which was set against the revolutionary forces of Arabi Pasha. And, thus began the British occupation of Egypt. Depicted here are the General and his men at their arrival in Alexandria.

Antique Image of the Day: Eckstein's Punch and Judy, 1798

Punch and Judy Show
Johannes Eckstein, 1798
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Johannes Eckstein (active 1770-1802) created this beautiful work of pen and ink and watercolor in 1798. This highly detailed image shows us a crowd engaged by a Punch and Judy show.

Look at Mr. Punch. Isn’t he just adorable? This would have been a wooden relative of the Punchinello famously recorded nearly twenty years later by George Cruikshank.

Today, this image is part of The Royal Collection. 

Drawing of the Day: Punch and Muffins Academy

The British Museum

I would like to attend the "Punch and Muffins Academy," especially if the Punch in question is Mr. Punch.  Here, from between 1820 and 1825, we see a design for a card which features a drawing of Mr. Punch seated on inverted bowl, at a table eating from another bowl.

The work of pen and gray ink was drawn by Edward Hull and is inscribed: 

"Punch and Muffins Academy by NED HULL Poplar Grove, Oval, Kennington."

 

Drawing of the Day: A Ball Scene, c. 1595-1605

A Ball Scene
Jacob Matham, 1595-1605
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This work of pen and brown ink is finished with a wash of brown and grey and touches of red and white chalk to add depth. The sketch is attributed to Jacob Matham (1571-1631) and it was acquired by King George III (1738-1820) around 1810, about two hundred years after it was created.

The scene depicts a Renaissance-style room inhabited by an elegant party engaged in an elegant dance. As this is likely a cartoon for a later painting, the sketch is somewhat rough and displays a rather inconsistent perspective.

The drawing has long been the subject of much interest, in large part because of the rather eerie appearance of some of the figures. Their ghostly look, it was discovered, owes to over-painting which changed their position—their original poses bleeding through the white gouache which was used to cover them.

There’s also a problem with the signature. While the piece is signed by Matham, it is also inscribed, “Venice (vinetia), 1605.” This is problematic in that, in 1605, Matham was in Haarlem. He visited Venice in 1595, not 1605. Furthermore, the room in the composition is clearly not Venetian.

Also, the size of the piece is not consistent with Matham’s other works.

For these reasons, some question the veracity of the attribution to Matham. Still, it’s likely that the artist produced the piece ten years after his Venetian trip in an effort to remember what he’d seen as well as to capitalize on the growing popularity of ballroom scenes.

Drawing of the Day: The Russell Square Puppet Show, 1827

Click on image to enlarge
View of Russell Square with a Puppet Show
Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1827
The British Museum

This drawing of pen and brown wash on paper dates to 1827 and is the work of Thomas Hosmer Shepherd. The scene gives us a view of Russell Square with the statue of the Duke of Bedford prominent on the left. 

In the square, a crowd has gathered to watch a puppet show. The bottler draws attention to the show by beating a large drum. His efforts clearly work because we see that a mother will two children are about to join the crowd.

This drawing was once part of the collection of Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford. It gives us a rare topographical representation of a part of London which has changed considerably over time.

Drawing of the Day: George Cooke's Vesta Victoria, 1904

Vesta Victoria
November, 1904
George Cooke
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Regular readers of this site are familiar with Music Hall star Vesta Victoria’s work. The singer and performer was born in Leeds in 1874, and joined her famous father on stage at an early age. Vesta’s father was known as “The Upside-Down Comedian” because he sang songs while standing on his head.

Vesta’s first independent success was in 1893 with her hit song, “Daddy Wouldn’t Buy Me a Bow Wow.” She soon became a star both in the U.K. and the U.S. and had a repertoire of popular songs which included “Waiting at the Church.”

Regular readers also know the caricature work of George Cooke whose albums of drawings of famous Edwardian Music Hall stars are preserved in the V&A. This one depicts Vesta Victoria as she looked while performing at Collins’ Hippodrome, Stoke-on-Trent, during the week of November 7, 1904. During this period she was was billed as “England’s Brightest and Best Comedienne.”

The work of pen, ink and wash on pink paper depicts Vesta Victoria wearing a white hat with blue and red striped band, a blue jacket with white collar and gloves. She holds a parasol in her right hand.

Drawing of the Day: The Discovery of the Tomb of Punchinello, 18th C.

Click image to enlarge
The Discovery of the Tomb of Punchinello
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Eighteenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This Eighteenth Century drawing by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) is something of a mystery. We’ve examined several drawings by Tiepolo previously. He often found inspiration in the characters from the Commedia dell’Arte, especially Pulcinella (Punchinello) and frequently depicted Mr. Punch’s ancestors in multiples and family groups.

This work of pen over red chalk has long been referred to as “The Discovery of the Tomb of Punchinello”—an English attribution, after-the-fact, based on Tiepolo’s other works more so than any context given in the piece itself.

The front of the drawing depicts a group of four men watching three others raising the slab of a tomb. The recto depicts Death giving audience.

Obviously, this is a study for a painting. Curators at the V&A--where this lives—have long thought that the piece was an early idea for Tiepolo’s “Scherzo No. 17” which was officially entitled “The discovery of the tomb of Punchinello.” The central figure is shown in a Franciscan habit, suggesting that, perhaps, a miracle of St Anthony of Padua was the inspiration for the scene.

Drawing of the Day: Fairies Rescuing a Bird, 1920-1925

Click on image to enlarge.
"Fairies Rescuing a Bird"
Margaret Tempest, 1920-1925
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Margaret Tempest (1892-1982), the celebrated English illustrator, began her career in the 1920s and became known as the creator of the beloved children’s book characters “Little Grey Rabbit” and “Fuzzypeg the Hedgehog.” The stories were written by Alison Uttley with illustrations by Margaret Tempest whose drawings graved the first thirty stories from 1929 until 1970.

Uttley and Tempest often debated between themselves about which of them could take the most credit for the success of the characters. However, it wasn’t the usual artistic struggle. In fact, each credited the other for the creation of the characters who had become household names.

Most agree, however, that the stories were given a special kind of life because of Tempest’s subtle watercolor drawings.

Here’s an interesting example of Margaret Tempest’s delicate work. In this watercolor, pen and ink drawing, we see fairies attempting to rescue a bird from a basket work cage. The artist’s gentle hand shows in the tones of the fairies’ wings and her ability to capture a moment of effort makes the painting seem as if we have been given a glance into a new world.

The drawing dates between 1920 and 1925. 

Drawing of the Day: Punchinellos with Monkey and a Dead Chicken, c. 1795

Click image to enlarge.

Punchinellos with a Monkey on a Donkey Holding a Dead Chicken
Domenico Tiepolo, 1791-1804
The British Museum

We’ve seen the works of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo before and I much enjoy his Punchinello scenes.  But, we've not looked at the work of Domenico Tiepolo previously.  Domenico was the son of Giovanni Battista, and, like his father, the younger Tiepolo gave us many drawings of Punchinellos, often in groups, and often, as a Punchinello is wont to do, up to mischief.

This drawing from 1791 to 1804 depicts a group of Punchinellos with a monkey who’s holding a dead chicken on a donkey. 

I want to reinforce how wonderful this is...

It's PUNCHINELLOS with a MONKEY on a DONKEY and the monkey on the donkey is holding a DEAD CHICKEN.

It's as if all my dreams came true.

I confess, I initially read the title of the drawing as being “Punchinellos with a Dead Monkey.” This is, however, just as intriguing. 

In true Venetian style, beyond the figures, we see a view of a town. Like most of  the Tiepolos' Punchinello drawings, this one is created in pen and brown ink with ochre wash, over black chalk.

Was this a study for a painting? Perhaps. Tiepolo, in this work, shows that he was influenced by German artist Johann Elias Ridinger and his “Paradeis” series. Tiepolo often borrowed figures of animals from Ridinger’s works. If this was intended as a study for a painting, there’s no evidence of the finished product. The British Museum acquired this piece in 1925.

Drawing of the Day: General Sir Garnet Wolseley at Alexandria, 1882-1901

Click on image for larger size
General Sir Garnet Wolseley at Alexandria
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Created in Egypt between 1882 and 1901, this drawing is the work of Orlando Norie (1832-1901). The work of pencil, pen, ink and watercolor has been accented with white gouache.

The illustration shows General Sir Garnet Wolseley who, aside from having a nifty name, landed in Alexandria on August 16, 1882. There, he took command of the British military campaign which was set against the revolutionary forces of Arabi Pasha. And, thus began the British occupation of Egypt. Depicted here are the General and his men at their arrival in Alexandria.

Drawing of the Day: The Russell Square Puppet Show, 1827

Click on image to enlarge
View of Russell Square with a Puppet Show
Thomas Hosmer Shepherd, 1827
The British Museum

This drawing of pen and brown wash on paper dates to 1827 and is the work of Thomas Hosmer Shepherd. The scene gives us a view of Russell Square with the statue of the Duke of Bedford prominent on the left. 

In the square, a crowd has gathered to watch a puppet show. The bottler draws attention to the show by beating a large drum. His efforts clearly work because we see that a mother will two children are about to join the crowd.

This drawing was once part of the collection of Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford. It gives us a rare topographical representation of a part of London which has changed considerably over time.

Drawing of the Day: A Ball Scene, c. 1595-1605

A Ball Scene
Jacob Matham, 1595-1605
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

This work of pen and brown ink is finished with a wash of brown and grey and touches of red and white chalk to add depth. The sketch is attributed to Jacob Matham (1571-1631) and it was acquired by King George III (1738-1820) around 1810, about two hundred years after it was created.

The scene depicts a Renaissance-style room inhabited by an elegant party engaged in an elegant dance. As this is likely a cartoon for a later painting, the sketch is somewhat rough and displays a rather inconsistent perspective.

The drawing has long been the subject of much interest, in large part because of the rather eerie appearance of some of the figures. Their ghostly look, it was discovered, owes to over-painting which changed their position—their original poses bleeding through the white gouache which was used to cover them.

There’s also a problem with the signature. While the piece is signed by Matham, it is also inscribed, “Venice (vinetia), 1605.” This is problematic in that, in 1605, Matham was in Haarlem. He visited Venice in 1595, not 1605. Furthermore, the room in the composition is clearly not Venetian.

Also, the size of the piece is not consistent with Matham’s other works.

For these reasons, some question the veracity of the attribution to Matham. Still, it’s likely that the artist produced the piece ten years after his Venetian trip in an effort to remember what he’d seen as well as to capitalize on the growing popularity of ballroom scenes.

Drawing of the Day: “O was an Oyster,” c. 1880

O was an Oyster
Lear, 1880
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Poet, author, artist and illustrator Edward Lear is best remembered for his “nonsense” literature including his celebrated “The Owl and the Pussycat,” and his lesser-known but equally delightful “Nonsense Alphabet.”

Here, we have an original drawing by Lear which was a study for a page in his “Nonsense Alphabet.” Dating to about 1880, the page is inscribed:

O was an oyster
Who lived by the sea
And he opened his mouth
As wide as could be.