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Mr Forbes-Robertson (Julian Beauclerc)

Drawing
1893 (made)
Artist/Maker
Aubrey Beardsley (artist)
Place of origin
London (made)

A drawing in black ink on white paper depicting a caricature of Mr Forbes Robertson in character as Julian Beauclerc in B. C. Stephenson and Clement Scott's play 'Diplomacy'. The character is shown in semi-profile wearing a shirt and jacket.


Object details

Categories
Drawings
Caricatures & Cartoons
Theatre
Object type
Drawing
TitleMr Forbes-Robertson (Julian Beauclerc) (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pen and Indian ink on paper
Paper
Ink
Drawing
Brief description
Drawing by Aubrey Beardsley, 'Mr Forbes-Robertson (Julian Beauclerc)', one of a series of two caricatures of actors in character in 'Diplomacy' by B. C. Stephenson and Clement Scott, adapted from Dora by Victorien Sardou, produced at the Garrick Theatre, London, 18 February 1893, pen and Indian ink, London, ca. 1893
Physical description
A drawing in black ink on white paper depicting a caricature of Mr Forbes Robertson in character as Julian Beauclerc in B. C. Stephenson and Clement Scott's play 'Diplomacy'. The character is shown in semi-profile wearing a shirt and jacket.
Dimensions
  • Height: 9.5cm (irregular)
  • Width: 15.5cm (irregular)
Marks and inscriptions
  • (Inscribed in pencil with notes)
  • 'MR FORBES / ROBERTSON / (JULIAN BEAUCLERC)' (Inscribed in ink)
Credit line
Bequeathed by H. H. Harrod
Object history
Bequeathed by H. H. Harrod, 1948
Subjects depicted
Caricature
Actor
Forbes Robertson
Association
Victorien Sardou
Literary referenceDiplomacy by B. C. Stephenson and Clement Scott
Bibliographic references
  • Calloway, Stephen. Aubrey Beardsley. London: V & A Publications, 1998. 224pp, illus. ISBN: 1851772197.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design, and Department of Paintings, Accessions: 1948, Volume II, Henry Herbert Harrod Bequest, London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1957
  • Linda Gertner Zatlin, Aubrey Beardsley : a catalogue raisonne. New Haven : Yale University Press, [2016] 2 volumes (xxxi, [1], 519, [1] pages; xi, [1], 547, [1] pages) : illustrations (some color) ; 31 cm. ISBN: 9780300111279 The entry is as follows: 298 Mr Forbes Roberson (Julian Beauclerc) By 22 February 1893 Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.31-1948) Pen and Indian ink over pencil on irregularly cut white wove paper; 3 11/16 x 6 1/16 inches (94 x 154 mm). INSCRIPTIONS: Recto inscribed by artist in ink: MR FORBES / ROBERTSON / (JULIAN BEAUCLERC) / [at far right in pencil in another hand in right corner]: 3 have by / Tuesday / at 5; Verso in pencil: 8567 / P.M.G. / [in ink]: E.30-1948; [stamp of] V.A.M. PROVENANCE: G. R. Halkett; bt. R. A. Walker in 1913; bt. Herbert von Garvens (1913); Sotheby's (London) sale 15-16 May 1939; … H. H. Harrod; bequeathed to Victoria and Albert Museum in 1948. EXHIBITION: London 1966-8 (156) LITERATURE: Vallance 1897 (p.204), 1909 (no.55.vii.3); Gallatin 1945 (no. 269); Reade 1967 (p.315 n.49); Samuels Lasner 1995 (no.11); Gibbs 2001 (p.356). REPRODUCED: Pall Mall Budget 23 February 1893 (p.281); Uncollected Work 1925 (no.55); Reade 1967 (plate 49). Beardsley easily captures Johnston Forbes Robertson’s likeness in this drawing of a character in the play Diplomacy. George Bernard Shaw described the actor as ‘cold, very handsome, constrained, and with an air of having been called away from some important business to do something distasteful on the stage. Yet he became our best actor, and indeed is so still’ (Gibbs 2001, p.356). For further comment about Beardsley’s drawings for the Pall Mall Budget, see 274 above.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.31-1948

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O601845/mr-forbes-robertson-julian-beauclerc-drawing-aubrey-beardsley/
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