Ariel: 'Where the Bee Sucks...' thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Paintings, Room 82, The Edwin and Susan Davies Galleries

Ariel: 'Where the Bee Sucks...'

Oil Painting
ca. 1826-1836 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Severn took the image from Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, where the mischievous sprite Ariel sings:

Merrily, merrily shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

He exhibited several paintings of Ariel at the Royal Academy. There is another in the V&A collection (see 1410-1869).


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleAriel: 'Where the Bee Sucks...' (popular title)
Materials and techniques
oil on millboard
Brief description
Oil painting, 'Ariel - "Where the Bee Sucks . . ."', Joseph Severn, ca. 1826-1836
Physical description
Oil painting
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 26.1cm
  • Estimate width: 38.1cm
  • Frame height: 41.3cm
  • Frame width: 56cm
  • Frame depth: 6.0cm (Note: Measured on wall in gallery.)
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990
Style
Credit line
Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend
Object history
Bequeathed by Rev. Chauncey Hare Townshend, 1868
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceThe Tempest by William Shakespeare
Summary
Severn took the image from Shakespeare's play, The Tempest, where the mischievous sprite Ariel sings:

Merrily, merrily shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

He exhibited several paintings of Ariel at the Royal Academy. There is another in the V&A collection (see 1410-1869).
Bibliographic reference
Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990, p. 262
Collection
Accession number
1416-1869

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Record createdMay 12, 2003
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