Stothard, Thomas; 'The Rescue from Drowning'; Young man supporting an unconscious young woman, whom he has rescued from drowning; Sketched in oil paints, on paper; English School; Mid 18th - early 19th century.

'The Rescue from Drowning'; Young man supporting the form of an unconscious young woman, whom he has rescued from drowning. A lady in alarm is flying to the spot, and a dog is at the maiden’s feet; Sketched in oil paints, on paper.

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.

This small sketch in oil on paper, was originally catalogued in the drawings section of the Dyce catalogue, along with pencil sketches and designs by Stothard (Dyce numbers 825 to 910). It was described simply as "The rescue from drowning". It is a scene in contemporary dress; a man in breeches and frock coat cradles a woman in a long dress on the side of a lightly sketched river bank. From behind a tree a second woman wearing a bonnet and shawl, accompanied by a dog, appears shocked by the scene.

In the late 1820s, towards the very end of his career, Thomas Stothard contributed designs to a number of the new arts and literary annuals, such as The Bijou and The Keepsake. The Keepsake appeared every autumn from 1827 to 1856, and carried a combination of poetry, short story and non-fiction by often important literary figures, and engravings of paintings by respected artists. According to its first editor, William Harrison Ainsworth, its "principal object... [was] to render the union of literary merit with all the beauty and elegance of art as complete as possible". The intended audience was predominantly female, and for many the annuals would have been too melodramatic or sentimental. They were extraordinarily expensive productions and many were given as gifts; the publication date in late October, early November, was timed to meet the Christmas and New Year market. Although this sketch by Stothard has not been matched to a particular literary work, it seems likely to have been an illustration for the kind of melodramatic of sentimental narrative typical of the annuals.

DYCE.884