Oil Painting, 'Petrarch and Laura', Thomas Stothard, early 19th century

An oil painting depicting Petrarch and Laura.

Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce

Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce, 1869.
Reference to Dyce : Science and Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, South Kensington Museum.A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings... Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London, 1874. A 'Note' on p.v. comments, 'This catalogue refers to the Art portion of the Collection bequeathed to the South Kensington Museum by the Reverend Alexander Dyce, the well-known Shakespearian scholar, who died May 15, 1869'. The Catalogue. Paintings, Miniatures, &c. by Samuel Redgrave notes of the 'Oil Paintings', 'The strength of Mr. Dyce's valuable bequest to Department of Science and Art does not lie in [this] portion ... which is in its nature of a very miscellaneous character. The collection was made apparently as objects offered themselves, and without any special design.'

Dyce owned 3 oils by Stothard (Dyce. 27, 28, 29), which reflected his interest in Shakespeare and other literary subjects. A further oil painting (Dyce.49) has now been attributed to Stothard, while a sketch on paper in oil (Dyce.884) was originally catalogued as a 'drawing', along with other sketches and designs by Stothard (Dyce. 825 to 910).

Historical significance: Thomas Stothard (1755-1834) was a highly prolific painter, book illustrator and designer. After his father's death in 1770 he began his working life apprenticed to a Huguenot silk weaver. At the completion of his apprenticeship in 1777 he entered the Royal Academy Schools, and there struck up life-long friendships with the sculptor John Flaxman and with William Blake. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1778 until his death in 1834, and from 1778 also began to produce illustrations for various publishers and magazines such as the Ladies' Magazine. He sometimes exhibited the original designs for such illustrations at the Royal Academy exhibitions. In his day he was highly respected as a history painter in oil, but the V&A collections of drawings and watercolours reflect his reputation during the 19th century predominantly as an illustrator, as well as a designer of a multitude of objects such as silver salvers to funerary monuments. As the Dictionary of National Biography notes, Stothard took 'advantage of the opportunities afforded by publishing and the industrial arts, while maintaining a reputation in the more respectable reaches of high art'. For example Stothard exhibited works on a grander scale than was his norm for Bowyer's 'Historic Gallery' (1790-1806). But many of the oils now in the V&A are on a modest scale and are perhaps designs for printed illustrations, rather than 'finished' history paintings. Stothard played a respected part in the art world of his day, and from 1812 until his death at the age of seventy-nine he held the post of librarian of the Royal Academy.

Francesco Petrarca (1304 – 1374), known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and early humanist. The true identity of Laura is unclear, but it is thought that she was a married woman, and that Petrarch could only express his infatuation with her through the medium of poetry; when Laura died, Petrarch was consumed with grief. This painting is described as being of Petrach and Laura, and Stothard seems to show Laura appearing to Petrarch after her death; she wears white, is garlanded and attended by putti. The figures wear vaguely medieval-style costume, but the image also seems to carry a conceit of the classical story of Orpheus and Euridyce. Orpheus, like Plutarch, was a poet as well as a singer, who, when his wife Euridyce died, travelled to the Underworld in search of her. Orpheus was promised her return if he agreed to walk ahead of her out of the Underworld, without looking back. But he was unable to resist turning to see that she was following him, and once he glanced over his shoulder, she faded back to the Underworld. In this painting Petrarch similarly looks back over his shoulder to the white-clad Laura, while carrying what appears to be a lyre in his hand - a symbol of Orpheus. The medieval-style costume however would seem to confirm the identity of the pair as Petrarch and Laura.

It remains unclear as to whether this small oil painting is a sketch for a printed illustration or is a finished oil intended primarily for display and sale. On the one hand it has not been possible to match this image to a finished print or illustration, and modesty of scale is no indication of function as large scale oils were rare in Stothard's oeuvre. On the other, Stothard was so prolific as an illustrator and designer that it may yet prove to be a design for an illustration.

DYCE.29