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Shakespeare & Beyond

Women painting Shakespeare in the time of Jane Austen and Queen Victoria

Angelica Kauffmann painted; engraver unknown. Two Gentlemen of Verona Act 5, scene 4. ART File S528t7 no.40
Angelica Kauffmann painted; engraver unknown. Two Gentlemen of Verona Act 5, scene 4. ART File S528t7 no.40

There is a well-known scene in Jane Austen’s Emma where the heroine is persuaded by Mr. Elton to show her portfolio of drawings. Emma obliges, displaying her work in “pencil, crayon, and watercolour,” but Austen suggests that she might have been better had she applied herself more. Austen’s novel was first published in 1815 at a time when middle- and upper-class women were expected to polish any skill they had in drawing and painting. If you’ve been watching Victoria on PBS you’ve seen her sketching and painting. She was quite talented and, even as a girl, made sketches of scenes from the opera version of Othello. The late 18th and early 19th century was also a time when professional women artists were becoming more prominent in England, and they turned to Shakespeare for some of their subject matter.

Comments

I found this focus fascinating. It especially made me want to inquire about the adoption and application of colored inks by the presses.

Jeffery Moser — March 20, 2019