Romney, George. Le Roi Lear

Folger bibliographic ID: 259068
Folger call number: ART Vol. a42 (after p.455)
Folger holdings ID: 342327

General notes

A tissue paper has been tipped in between the item and the printed text. In ink, on the tissue paper, the artist and title have been noted. Item is unsigned. Artist identification taken from note on tissue paper Artist: Drawing is not similar to the majority of Romney sketches housed in the Folger collection, though it bears a remarkable resemblance to one item. The item it most closely resembles is ART Flat b6, no.43 which is identified in Yvonne Dixon's unpublished Catalog Raisonné of the Folger Romney drawings as 'Bust of an Old Man with a Beard in a Helmet; Possibly King Lear 1770's'. Dixon describes the bust as being a highly finished drawing carefully built up through a complex linear system of contour lines, stipple diagonal hatching and scumbling.' This description may be aptly applied to the drawing in this volume. Dixon also notes that Andrew Wilton has suggested that the helmeted drawing may be the work of John Hamilton Mortimer. Both the Art Flat drawing and the sketch noted on this card are similar to Mortimer's style, however, as Dixon mentions, the background of Mortimer's drawings are 'built up through different systems.' History: The Ward and Roberts Catalogue Raisonné of Romney's works lists 7 paintings on the subject of King Lear. This sketch may have been a study for one of these works. The precision of the drawing and the finished quality it bears also suggest that the drawing may have been a design for an engraving Provenance: Drawing has been inlaid and tipped into a French translation of selected Shakespeare plays. For complete provenance and volume information see record for Lami, Eugene Louis. Scenes from Shakespeare plays Subject: Drawing depicts the head and shoulders of an elderly man with longish hair, a beard and a moustache. He is facing right with head turned to left. The nose is formed in the classical mode. Drawing is almost identical to the sketch ART Flat b6, no.43 but for the helmet and staff found on that drawing This record contains unverified data from old cards and may contain incorrect or incomplete text. Please consult Curator for assistance

Extended title: Le Roi Lear [George Romney]

artist: Romney, George, 1734-1802
former owner: Meyer, Arthur, 1844-1924
possible artist: Mortimer, John Hamilton, 1740-1779