Study of a plaster cast of the foot of the Farnese Hercules thumbnail 1
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Study of a plaster cast of the foot of the Farnese Hercules

Drawing
1863 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Fildes, Luke (Sir, KB, KCVO, RA) (artist)
Place of origin
London (drawn)

Large drawing of a plaster cast of a human foot

Object details

Category
Drawings
Object type
Drawing
TitleStudy of a plaster cast of the foot of the Farnese Hercules
Materials and techniques
black chalk heightened with white chalk
Black Chalk
White Chalk
Drawn
Brief description
Fildes, Luke; black chalk drawing with white heightening, plaster cast of the foot of the Farnese Hercules, 1863. This drawing was made during Fildes's time as an art student at South Kensington.
Physical description
Large drawing of a plaster cast of a human foot
Dimensions
  • Height: 67.1cm
  • Width: 45.4cm
Style
British School
Marks and inscriptions
  • Signed and dated bottom left 'L. Fildes / Dec. 1st 1863'

  • Signed 'L Fildes' bottom right

  • Signed 'S.L. Fildes' faintly in white chalk, top left

  • Stamped with the 'Science and Art Department' stamp, top right

Gallery label
(27 November 2018)
Cast Courts Reinstallation, 27 November 2018

2.
Study of a plaster cast of the foot of the Farnese Hercules
Samuel Luke Fildes, 1863
One of the students at the National Art Training School at this Museum was Luke Fildes (1843-1927). He went on to provide illustrations for novels by Dickens and Thackeray and the popular weekly The Graphic. As a young student, Fildes drew this foot from the cast of a classical sculpture, the Farnese Hercules. The programme of learning at the art school, which focussed on copying and examination, became known as ‘The South Kensington System’. It was adopted around the world.

Reproduced from a black chalk drawing with white heightening
South Kensington, London
Museum no. E.1951-1909

The Department of Science and Art took charge of art and design education in the 1850s. Its comprehensive curriculum, the National Course of Art Instruction, dictated teaching practice in Britain until the end of the century. Plaster casts of sculptural fragments, natural forms and ornament replaced the life model as the focal point of teaching.
Object history
Transferred from the stores, 1909
Subjects depicted
Art School Drawings
Antique, The
Cross Hatching
Plaster Casts
Foot
Farnese Hercules
Bibliographic references
  • Owens, Susan, The Art of Drawing British Masters And Methods Since 1600, V&A Publishing, London, 2013, p. 122, fig. 97
  • Lambert, Susan. Drawing: Technique & Purpose. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1981. p.33.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1951-1909

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O787237/study-of-a-plaster-cast-drawing-fildes-luke-sir/
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