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Viola Surviving the Shipwreck off the Coast of Illyria, from “Twelfth Night”

A work made of black chalk and charcoal on ivory laid paper, edge mounted on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of black chalk and charcoal on ivory laid paper, edge mounted on ivory laid paper.

Date:

c. 1776

Artist:

George Romney
English, 1734-1802

About this artwork

George Romney’s reputation as a portraitist rivaled that of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, the leading figures of 18th-century British painting. Romney’s true ambition to be a history painter, however, was not fully realized until the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery was opened in 1786. This drawing is one of hundreds by Romney, most of which are in pen and wash, illustrating Shakespeare, Milton, and Greco-Roman mythology. The artist’s sweeping gestures with pen and wash emphasize the struggle and loss brought on by the shipwreck in the opening act of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

George Romney

Title

Viola Surviving the Shipwreck off the Coast of Illyria, from “Twelfth Night”

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1771–1781

Medium

Black chalk and charcoal on ivory laid paper, edge mounted on ivory laid paper

Inscriptions

Inscribed verso, left of center, in pen and brown ink: "No. 27"; upper right, in graphite: "Early study for a Shipwreck"

Dimensions

Primary support: 29.7 × 48.9 cm (11 3/4 × 19 5/16 in.); Secondary support: 36 × 55.4 cm (14 3/16 × 21 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection

Reference Number

2013.1015

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/186402/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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