Open Your Mouth and Shut Your Eyes thumbnail 1
Open Your Mouth and Shut Your Eyes thumbnail 2

Open Your Mouth and Shut Your Eyes

Oil Painting
ca. 1838 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The subject is taken from an old nursey saying: 'Open your mouth, shut your eyes, and see what Providence will send you'. Mulready has adapted the context to adolescence. The painting was probably a companion piece to 'The Sonnet', another painting by Mulready.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleOpen Your Mouth and Shut Your Eyes (popular title)
Materials and techniques
oil on panel
Brief description
Oil painting entitled 'Open Your Mouth and Shut Your Eyes' by William Mulready. Great Britain, 1838.
Physical description
Oil painting entitled 'Open Your Mouth and Shut Your Eyes' depicting a man lying in a field with a young baby, feeding cherries to a girl.
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 31.5cm
  • Estimate width: 30.2cm
Dimensions taken from Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990
Style
Credit line
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Object history
Given by John Sheepshanks, 1857
Subjects depicted
Summary
The subject is taken from an old nursey saying: 'Open your mouth, shut your eyes, and see what Providence will send you'. Mulready has adapted the context to adolescence. The painting was probably a companion piece to 'The Sonnet', another painting by Mulready.
Bibliographic reference
Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990, pp. 202-204
Collection
Accession number
FA.143[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 Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis.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 createdMay 22, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest