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View of Mary Linwood's gallery

Unknown

1810

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

British Romanticism Romanticism Early 19th Century Cityscape

Dominant colour

View of Mary Linwood's gallery is a 1810 watercolor by Unknown, a British Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1810 · British Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This watercolor shows a tidy room packed with needlework pictures on the walls. A woman in a white dress sits near a table covered in brushes and pots. Artists used these small, colorful sketches to plan book illustrations. They often added bright colors even if the final print would be black and white. Look at how the light falls on the framed pictures. Find more sketches like this at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

This watercolour sketch, likely the preparatory stage for an aquatint, depicts Mary Linwood's gallery. Such sketches were typically vividly colored, even when intended for black-and-white reproduction. Linwood gained prominence for her crewel wool copies of old master paintings, with one of her works fetching a higher price than the original. Her Leicester Square exhibition was notable for being the first art show illuminated by gaslight.

Read the full account in the museum source.