Drawing of the Day: Children Watching a Puppet Show

Children Watching A Puppet Show
Stefano della Bella
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Oddly enough, here’s another drawing which I’ve not seen before. This one is by an Italian artist with a sing-song name, Stefano della Bella (1610-1664). The work of black chalk, pen and ink was purchased by King George III from Consul Joseph Smith in 1762, and depicts a group of children watching a puppet show. A young mother holds her child on her lap so that the baby can see the show, too.

I am familiar with a similar drawing by Della Bella which is housed at the British Museum. While the subjects are similar, the example in the British Museum includes a bagpiper accompanying the show.

Given the age of the piece, the paper has deteriorated a bit and the other sketches on the verso are visible.

Obviously, the drawing is incomplete, and, is clearly a study for another work—perhaps a painting.

Print of the Day: Cruikshank's "Punch and the Cat," 19th C.

Engraving depicting "Punch and the Cat"
George Cruikshank
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Some of the earliest, most accurate and famous drawings we have of the Nineteenth Century Punch & Judy shows in Britain are those created by the celebrated illustrator George Cruikshank (1792-1878).

Here, we see an engraving after one of Cruikshank’s renowned drawings.  The print crisply depicts not only the Punch & Judy performance, but also, the audience.  Here, we see Punch and the Cat in a booth in the upper center. Some Punch & Judy Professors in the Nineteenth Century used a cat in lieu of the Dog Toby.  At the time, many Punch & Judy men still employed real animals as Punch’s companion as opposed to puppet counterparts.  If a dog was unavailable, Mr. Punch was joined by a cat. 

This trimmed piece of paper has, on the reverse, part of a music score entitled “The Magistrate.” “Old G. Cruickshank” is inscribed in pencil on the upper left center.

Object of the Day: Punch Presents Quick Meal Coal Ranges, circa 1904

"QUICK MEAL"
DRAWING BOOK 
-------
This little booklet will amuse the Children. Let them
copy the pictures on the Tissue Paper.
--------

Punch and Judy 
          of olden times
     Are now the subject of
          our rhymes.
Punch’s appetite was
          great,
     So he ordered Judy to 

          cook a steak.

Now Judy, you know,
     had an old time
          stove,
     And to cook for
          Punch she often
               strove;
But Punch could not
     be pleasant or glad,
     And oft at mealtime
          he was mad.

One day, when he was
          in a fit,
     And Baby cried ‘till
          it was sick, 

Punch threw it madly,
          out of doors;
Poor Judy shrieked
          aloud, of course.

A Policeman came
          into the door,
      And Judy cried
          aloud some more;
But Punch could not
          be taken in,
     And swore the battle
          he would win.

He won the battle
          To be sure,
     But could not win
          Poor Judy more.
A bright idea popped
          in his head—
     “I’ll get a QUICK
          MEAL RANGE,”
               he said.

So when the Range
           was set up right,
     Judy worked with
          all her might,
And cooked, and
     cooked—morn,
           noon and night,
     You never saw such
           a pretty sight. 

Click images to enlarge.

This fanciful little booklet, complete with its original tracing paper inserts, was made to advertise St. Louis-based “Quick Meal Coal Ranges” and Gas ranges for the Ringen Stove Co. of Missouri. Since the booklet mentions the World’s Fair, we can guess that it was made after the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

This American company has cleverly featured Britain’s Mr. and Mrs. Punch and their baby. Punch, as you’ve just read, is annoyed by Judy’s slow range and tosses the baby out of the window. But, after gleefully smashing the Beadle, Punch decides he can make everything right by buying Judy a new range. And, actually, it does seem to do the trick.

I can’t tell you how much I love the illustrations in this booklet. They’re too wonderful, and I adore the look of utter joy with which Punch approaches everything he’s doing. He’s as happy with his meal of turkey and hams as he is just to throw the baby out of the window. And, that’s why we love Mr. Punch.

I’ve scanned most of the book for you. Enjoy the pictures. They’re quite a treat. You’ll see that some of the pages are covered by the original tissue paper. I’ve moved the paper out of the way in the next image.  I'm just surprised it was never drawn in.

Mr. Punch in the Arts: Drunk Punch, 1990

Drunk Punch
Richard Slee
Victoria & Albert Museum

Contemporary studio potter Richard Slee was inspired by English ceramics of centuries past and their relationship to British culture. Driven to create a modern adaptation of English “Tobies” (jugs, or large drinking mugs in the form of a stout man), Slee inverted the popular phrase, “Punch Drunk” and created this figure of Drunk Punch. What’s more British than Mr. Punch?


Here, we see Mr. Punch, clearly in his cups, made of coiled earthenware and colored glazes. He is surrounded by spent cobalt blue bottles which refer to Slee’s famous modern reworking of vase shapes.

Located in the Victoria & Albert Museum, Drunk Punch is usually exhibited at the end of a display of antique Tobies which show the progression of the vessel over centuries.

Gratuitous Bertie Dog Picture: The Bertie's Birthday Table

"Mine!"

Image:  The Queen's Birthday Table at Osborne, 24 May 1856,  Creator: James Roberts (c.1800-67) (artist), Creation Date: dated 1856, a detailed view of a table, displaying the Queen's gifts. Signed.

Crown Copyright, The Royal Collection via The Royal Collection Trust.  The original image is courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

To learn more about this watercolor masterpiece , visit the entry for this painting in the online catalog of the Royal Collection Trust.

You, too, could have a cup of tea with Bertie. Or, you could wear his picture proudly. Visit our online store to see our range of Gratuitous Bertie Dog products.

The Home Beautiful: “Dot and Cairnach, Skye Terriers” by Otto Weber, 1874

Dot and Cairnach, Skye Terriers
Otto Weber, 1874
The Royal Collection

Royal Academician Otto Weber was appointed portrait painter to The Royal Family in the 1870’s by Queen Victoria. Being as Victoria considered the royal pets to be as much a part of the family as anyone else, she commissioned Weber to paint portraits of her dogs, too.

This 1874 portrait shows two Skye Terriers who lived amongst the other dogs in the royal household. Known as Dot and Cairnach, these spirited companions were known to frolic through the corridors in typical terrier fashion. This wasn’t Cairnach’s first time posing for a portrait. He had previously been painted by Sir Edwin Landseer on several occasions and served as a great source of inspiration for the artist who used the terrier’s visage in quite a few masterpieces.

Curiously, another of Landseer's portraits is of a dog also called Cairnach.  This one dates to 1842.  This handsome pup, who was honored later by the name given to the Skye, was a Maltese Terrier.    The 1842 portrait roundel was a Christmas gift to Queen Victoria from Prince Albert.

Cairnach
Sir Edwin Landseer, 1842
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Painting of the Day: “Silence!” By Jean-Baptist Greuz, 1759

Silence!
Jean-Baptist Greuz, 1759
Acquired by King George IV, 1817\
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Images Courtesy of Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II

This French painting was acquired by King George IV in 1817. It was a peculiar purchase for the King who wasn’t prone to picking domestic genre scenes. He was, however, enchanted by all things French, and perhaps this intimate painting with its frank depiction of raising children, put him in mind of French attitudes toward life.


This handsome piece comes from the hand of Jean-Baptist Greuz who achieved considerable fame with his paintings of Eighteenth-Century, French domestic life. This work from 1759 who created, along with a companion piece for one of Greuz’s most loyal patrons who allowed the works to be displayed that year at the Paris Salon.

The following was displayed on a card alongside the painting:

A Painting representing Rest, characterized by a Woman who obliges her son to be silent by pointing to her other sleeping children.

The rather disheveled little boy has been up to considerable mischief. We can see that he’s been irritating his mother by making noise on his toy trumpet. We can assume that he’s responsible for the broken drum which hangs from the back of the chair of the slumbering child. His mother urges him, “Silence,” by pointing at the other little boy who is fast asleep.

The companion painting to this work showed the same mother with the disheveled boy. That painting, entitled “The Spoilt Child,” depicted a scene of paternal indulgence as the mother watches her son feed his dinner to a happy dog.