The Artist's Vision: Romantic Traditions in Britain

November 19, 2006 – March 18, 2007
West Building, Ground Floor, Outer Tier Galleries G23, G24, G25

Paul Sandby, *The Tide Rising at Briton Ferry*, 1773, watercolor over graphite; laid down, Gift of The Circle of the National Gallery of Art, 1988.19.1

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

Paul Sandby, The Tide Rising at Briton Ferry, 1773, watercolor over graphite; laid down, Gift of The Circle of the National Gallery of Art, 1988.19.1

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

Samuel Palmer, Harvesters by Firelight, 1830, pen and black ink with watercolor and gouache on wove paper, Paul Mellon Collection, 1986.72.12

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

Samuel Palmer, The Sleeping Shepherd; Early Morning, 1857, etching, hand-colored with watercolor and opaque white with gold highlights, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.6711

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

George Fennel Robson, A Loch in Scotland, watercolor over graphite on wove paper, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1989.37.1

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

John Martin, View on the River Wye, Looking towards Chepstow, 1844, watercolor, gouache, and touches of oil paint (?) over graphite with scraping out, heightened with varnish and/or gum arabic, on wove paper, Gift of The Circle of the National Gallery of Art, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1990.87.1

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

John Ruskin, The Garden of San Miniato near Florence, 1845, watercolor and pen and black ink, heightened with white gouache, over graphite on wove paper laid down on thick, white paper, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 1991.88.1

A nude, muscular man with pale mauve-pink skin and seven human heads straddles a blue-skinned creature with seven beast-like heads in this vertical ink and watercolor illustration. The body of the Great Red Dragon, the creature with mauve skin, and his outstretched, webbed wings nearly fill the composition. The wings are spotted with silver, five-pointed stars. Rams’ horns scroll from his central head and some of the smaller heads to each side. Two of the outer heads have horns like unicorns but the faces are obscured by others in front. He stands with knees slightly bent and feet widely planted on choppy waters. His arms are thrust straight by his sides so the palms face down and the fingers flare outward. Fins jut out from next to his right knee and ankle, to our left. The second creature, the Beast from the Sea, is between the Great Red Dragon’s legs, sunk up to the chest in the white-crested water. The Beast looks up at the Great Red Dragon with all seven, equally sized heads. These heads also have straight or curling horns but exaggerated, thick lips and feline-like noses. The Beast raises both arms so one is in front of one of the Great Red Dragon’s legs and the other is behind. The Beast holds up a flaming sword with the right hand, to our left, and a flaming object, perhaps a scepter or torch, in the other hand. The background behind the pair is inky black. The artist signed the lower right, “WB inv.”

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

William Blake, The Great Red Dragon and the Beast from the Sea, c. 1805, pen and ink with watercolor over graphite, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.8997

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

William Blake, The Accusers of Theft, Adultery, Murder (War), c. 1794/1796, color-printed etching, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.8973

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

John Dixon after John Hamilton Mortimer, Incantation, 1773, mezzotint on laid paper, Gaillard F. Ravenel and Frances P. Smyth-Ravenel Fund, 2002.65.2

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Ariadne, 1863/1864, watercolor and gouache over graphite on smooth wove paper, The Armand Hammer Collection, 1989.2.1

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Jane Morris, 1870, pen and iron gall ink with brown wash on laid paper; laid down on paperboard, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1988.29.1

The Artist's Vision Romantic Traditions in Britain

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Desdemona's Death-Song, 1875/1880, black chalk over traces of red chalk on two joined sheets of blue-green paper, New Century Fund and Paul Mellon Fund, 2005.76.1

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: 67 prints and drawings by British artists from the late 18th to the early 20th century were shown in this exhibition, which explored themes in romantic art, including landscapes, supernatural and horrific subjects, and Pre-Raphaelite works that evoked early Italian painting. Included were Dante Gabriel Rossetti's drawing Desdemona's Death Song and works by Samuel Palmer, J. M. W. Turner, William Blake, and John Constable, among others. The works were drawn from the prints and drawings collection of the National Gallery, and augmented by loans from private collections.

The National Gallery Vocal Arts Ensemble performed music of British composers in a Sunday concert in honor of the exhibition. A special Sunday afternoon tea menu was available in the West Building Garden Café. The exhibition was part of the 2007 citywide festival, Shakespeare in Washington.

Organization: The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Exhibition curator was Stacey Sell, assistant curator of old master drawings.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by the Thaw Charitable Trust.

Attendance: 55,959

Constable and Turner - British Landscapes of the Early 1800s