Framed pastel: Unknown lady (called Mary Robinson) with a singing child by John Russell (1745-1806). Pastel on paper, 1793
Key information
Museum number
1979.2
Object
Framed pastel: Unknown lady (called Mary Robinson) with a singing child by John Russell (1745-1806). Pastel on paper, 1793
Gallery label
Unknown Lady with a Singing Child
John Russell (1745–1806)
Pastel on paper, 1793
Signed J Russell RA pt / 1793
John Russell was Britain’s leading pastellist at the end of the eighteenth century, a master of colour and texture. Although he only used fourteen different pigments, he mixed them to create vivid colouring and used his fingers to blend or ‘sweeten’ them into soft, hazy effects.
We do not know the identity of this lady leaning on a mossy bank in a forest glade, although the child that sings to her could well be the sitter’s own child.
Acquired with the assistance of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Purchase Grant Fund, 1979
1979.2
John Russell (1745–1806)
Pastel on paper, 1793
Signed J Russell RA pt / 1793
John Russell was Britain’s leading pastellist at the end of the eighteenth century, a master of colour and texture. Although he only used fourteen different pigments, he mixed them to create vivid colouring and used his fingers to blend or ‘sweeten’ them into soft, hazy effects.
We do not know the identity of this lady leaning on a mossy bank in a forest glade, although the child that sings to her could well be the sitter’s own child.
Acquired with the assistance of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Purchase Grant Fund, 1979
1979.2
On display?
No
