L'Allegro thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 122

L'Allegro

Oil Painting
1848 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Oil paintings such as this with subjects taken from literature steadily replaced commissions for history paintings in the early 19th century. The public and most collectors of modern works started to prefer lighter and sometimes more sentimental themes.

Subjects Depicted
This painting is an illustration to John Milton's 1632 poem 'L'Allegro' where he is calling upon Euphrosyne, the goddess of Mirth 'So buxom, blithe and debonair'. The goddess is shown closing her ear with her hand against the counsels of love. It is a companion work to Cope's Il Penseroso also described here.

People
Charles West Cope (1811-1890) was a landscape watercolourist as well as an oil painter. He was a friend of the collector John Sheepshanks who gave nine of Cope's works to the Museum. Nearly all his paintings were literary, biblical or historical subjects and domestic genre. He studied fresco painting in Italy and painted several frescos in the Palace of Westminster. Cope exhibited 134 works at the Royal Academy and in 1870 was appointed examiner in painting at the South Kensington Schools of Art, the forerunner of the Royal College of Art.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleL'Allegro (generic title)
Materials and techniques
oil on panel
Brief description
Oil painting entitled 'L'Allegro' by Charles West Cope. Great Britain, 1848.
Physical description
Oil painting
Dimensions
  • Height: 71.1cm
  • Width: 46.4cm
  • Depth: 5cm
  • Framed height: 92.5cm
  • Framed width: 70cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 20/01/1999 by sf
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
'C W Cope 1848' (Signed and dated by the artist, lower right)
Gallery label
British Galleries: Illustrations from literature were popular subjects for modern British painters. This pair of paintings illustrates two poems written by John Milton in 1632. 'L'Allegro' celebrated the pleasures of the cheerful and sociable life, in contrast to melancholy solitude.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Object history
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857. By Charles West Cope RA (born in Leeds, 1811, died in London, 1890)

Exhibited at the Royal Academy 1848
Production
Signed and dated 1848
Literary referenceMilton, <i>L'Allegro</i>
Summary
Object Type
Oil paintings such as this with subjects taken from literature steadily replaced commissions for history paintings in the early 19th century. The public and most collectors of modern works started to prefer lighter and sometimes more sentimental themes.

Subjects Depicted
This painting is an illustration to John Milton's 1632 poem 'L'Allegro' where he is calling upon Euphrosyne, the goddess of Mirth 'So buxom, blithe and debonair'. The goddess is shown closing her ear with her hand against the counsels of love. It is a companion work to Cope's Il Penseroso also described here.

People
Charles West Cope (1811-1890) was a landscape watercolourist as well as an oil painter. He was a friend of the collector John Sheepshanks who gave nine of Cope's works to the Museum. Nearly all his paintings were literary, biblical or historical subjects and domestic genre. He studied fresco painting in Italy and painted several frescos in the Palace of Westminster. Cope exhibited 134 works at the Royal Academy and in 1870 was appointed examiner in painting at the South Kensington Schools of Art, the forerunner of the Royal College of Art.
Bibliographic reference
Parkinson, R., Victoria and Albert Museum, Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, London: HMSO, 1990, pp. 48-49
Collection
Accession number
FA.58[O]

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 5, 2001
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest