Figure study of a ballerina
Watercolour
1938 (Painted)
1938 (Painted)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Mervyn Peake was an important artist and writer, whose strange fantasy novels and grotesque illustrations have become progressively more famous. After studying at the Royal Academy schools, (though failing his exams) he managed to exhibit with the Sark group of artists. On the strength of this he was offered a job at the Westminster School of Art. There he taught life drawing from 1935 until 1939. This study was produced as an example for students, and shows how he experimented with various textures in the thick gouache, and thinner watercolour washes. The image shows little hint of how his dark imagination was to develop in the illustrations he produced during and after the Second World War.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Figure study of a ballerina (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Gouache on laid paper |
Brief description | Gouache study of a ballerina, on paper, by Mervyn Peake, 1938. |
Physical description | Gouache study of a ballerina, on laid paper watermarked Ingres. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Marks and inscriptions | By Mervyn Peake Westminster Art School
1938 (The inscription was added on the back of the sheet by the donor.) |
Credit line | Given by Peter A. Hodges |
Object history | This gouache drawing apparently dates from his time at the Westminster School of Art, where he taught life drawing from 1935 until 1939. According to the donor, the donor's late wife was a student of Peake's in 1939, and this and another drawing [E.314-2005] were prepared as examples for the students, and given to her subsequently |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | Mervyn Peake was an important artist and writer, whose strange fantasy novels and grotesque illustrations have become progressively more famous. After studying at the Royal Academy schools, (though failing his exams) he managed to exhibit with the Sark group of artists. On the strength of this he was offered a job at the Westminster School of Art. There he taught life drawing from 1935 until 1939. This study was produced as an example for students, and shows how he experimented with various textures in the thick gouache, and thinner watercolour washes. The image shows little hint of how his dark imagination was to develop in the illustrations he produced during and after the Second World War. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.313-2005 |
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Record created | June 6, 2005 |
Record URL |
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