George Romney - Sketchbooks (temporary preview page No2)
Romney left more than fifty sketchbooks. These give unique insights into his thinking and his interests at various times of his life. The Society has undertaken to produce a digital record of the contents of individual sketchbooks with brief explanatory notes. This long term project commenced in 2016 and the first sketchbooks are now available on this website. More will be added in due course.
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Location: Abbot Hall Art Gallery Kendal. Inventory No. 1867/79.
Provenance: ... Morton Morris & Co.; from whom bought in 1979 by the present owner. Description: Graphite on cream laid paper; 15 x 20 cm; 10 pages, the 8 bound pages numbered 2-9, plus 2 unnumbered loose pages; unidentified watermark incorporating a crown over shield; no binding. |
Sketchbook images... |
This sketchbook, now only a tantalizing fragment, contains some of the most beautiful of all Romney's early drawings. It is a first cousin of the Kendal sketchbook, clearly in use at roughly the same time. Although the size of the page is much smaller, individual sheets are worked in the same way, many having several small studies on each side. The drawing style is also very similar, but many of the sketches are more expressive and more fully developed than most of those in the Kendal sketchbook, so that their qualities of delicacy and jewel-like precision achieve an even greater impact.
None of the subjects is immediately recognizable, although two possible identifications need to be weighed carefully. On page 5v, two studies of a partially draped, bare-breasted standing woman have been annotated in a later hand Mrs Yates. Their resemblance to the finished portrait Mrs Yates as the Tragic Muse exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1771 is tenuous, and the controlled pencil drawing style here is unlike the draughtsmanship in other sketchbooks from the early 1770s (some of which include incontestable, very different-looking studies for Mrs Yates). It thus seems preferable to argue that any similarities are fortuitous. The same view could be taken with two sketches on page 7 of a dancing nymph with cymbals. These may be an early idea for Mirth, the subject which Romney exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1770. Nevertheless, none of the women in the finished painting are playing the cymbals, and again it may be that this figure is for a totally different work. Overall, this homogenous, tightly-drawn group of drawings has the feel of belonging to an earlier phase of Romney's career. Even the putative date of 1769 which might accommodate the Mirth hypothesis feels uncomfortably late, and a tentative dating to earlier in the 1760s seems more plausible.
Three subjects dominate the contents of the sketchbook. The first involves a classical male warrior figure granting clemency or pardon to a female, sometimes standing, sometimes kneeling, whose attendants cluster behind her – a Continence of Scipio-type theme. The second is a classically draped woman, whole-length, seated under a tree with a putto-like child clinging to her knee. In a sketch on the last page of the book, the child has disappeared, which may argue that this is a portrait rather than a mythological subject. Thirdly there is a standing woman, again in classical drapes, shown either whole-length or to below the knees in profile to the left, resting against a plinth. Similar subjects to all these appear in the Kendal sketchbook. It is a great pity that so many of the pages of this book have disappeared, for knowledge of what it originally contained would have clarified the relationship between the two volumes, above all from a chronological point of view. As it is, the sketchbook remains a vital source for fleshing out Romney's early career.
AK
None of the subjects is immediately recognizable, although two possible identifications need to be weighed carefully. On page 5v, two studies of a partially draped, bare-breasted standing woman have been annotated in a later hand Mrs Yates. Their resemblance to the finished portrait Mrs Yates as the Tragic Muse exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1771 is tenuous, and the controlled pencil drawing style here is unlike the draughtsmanship in other sketchbooks from the early 1770s (some of which include incontestable, very different-looking studies for Mrs Yates). It thus seems preferable to argue that any similarities are fortuitous. The same view could be taken with two sketches on page 7 of a dancing nymph with cymbals. These may be an early idea for Mirth, the subject which Romney exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1770. Nevertheless, none of the women in the finished painting are playing the cymbals, and again it may be that this figure is for a totally different work. Overall, this homogenous, tightly-drawn group of drawings has the feel of belonging to an earlier phase of Romney's career. Even the putative date of 1769 which might accommodate the Mirth hypothesis feels uncomfortably late, and a tentative dating to earlier in the 1760s seems more plausible.
Three subjects dominate the contents of the sketchbook. The first involves a classical male warrior figure granting clemency or pardon to a female, sometimes standing, sometimes kneeling, whose attendants cluster behind her – a Continence of Scipio-type theme. The second is a classically draped woman, whole-length, seated under a tree with a putto-like child clinging to her knee. In a sketch on the last page of the book, the child has disappeared, which may argue that this is a portrait rather than a mythological subject. Thirdly there is a standing woman, again in classical drapes, shown either whole-length or to below the knees in profile to the left, resting against a plinth. Similar subjects to all these appear in the Kendal sketchbook. It is a great pity that so many of the pages of this book have disappeared, for knowledge of what it originally contained would have clarified the relationship between the two volumes, above all from a chronological point of view. As it is, the sketchbook remains a vital source for fleshing out Romney's early career.
AK
Click to see the Sketchbook images...
Location: Abbot Hall Art Gallery Kendal. Inventory No. 2469/83.
Provenance: Alfred De Pass; by whom given to the Royal Institution of Cornwall 1923; Christie’s 22 February 1966 (21); bought by Alister Mathews; …Sir John Wedgwood Bt. (1907-1989); Christie’s 16 November 1982 (17); bought by the present owner.
Description: Graphite sketches (with the exception of three small ones in ink) and ink manuscript on cream laid paper; 16 x 19.5 cm; 32 pages, unnumbered, remain of the 69 present when the sketchbook was with the Royal Institution of Cornwall, although there is some evidence that pages had been removed even before the sketchbook was with them; watermark of Britannia in roundel; board and leather binding.
Provenance: Alfred De Pass; by whom given to the Royal Institution of Cornwall 1923; Christie’s 22 February 1966 (21); bought by Alister Mathews; …Sir John Wedgwood Bt. (1907-1989); Christie’s 16 November 1982 (17); bought by the present owner.
Description: Graphite sketches (with the exception of three small ones in ink) and ink manuscript on cream laid paper; 16 x 19.5 cm; 32 pages, unnumbered, remain of the 69 present when the sketchbook was with the Royal Institution of Cornwall, although there is some evidence that pages had been removed even before the sketchbook was with them; watermark of Britannia in roundel; board and leather binding.
This is one of the ‘Truro Sketchbooks’ photographed by the Courtauld Institute in 1956 (see Appendix B). After its sale in 1966 a large number of the leaves were removed. What was left of the sketchbook was then sold at Christie’s in 1982. Photographs of the sketchbook as it was in 1956 remain in the Witt Library at the Courtauld and will be available online in 2018.
The front cover of this sketchbook is inscribed in Romney's hand March 1790. Inside, there are numerous studies for John Howard visiting a Prison, a subject which, encouraged by Hayley, the artist presumably tackled immediately upon hearing the news of Howard's death in the Crimea in January 1790. These drawings divide into two groups: a few individual studies of the gaoler, and initial trials for the whole composition, which are carried out fairly simply. A number of rapid, dense and tonal drawings that are typical of Romney’s treatment of the subject were amongst the sheets removed from the volume between 1966 and 1982. Also removed, but of great interest, were four drawings for Boadicea in her Chariot. There are three, much earlier, related drawings in British Museum Sketchbook No. 3, and the subject appears in Hayley’s Hints for Pictures notebook (National Art Library), but these remain rare examlpes of a subject for which no further sheets are known.
Shakespearean subjects in the sketchbook include a single study for the Banqueting Scene from Macbeth and a drawing for The Indian Woman from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which shows the composition in a state very close to the completed painting of 1793. Romney is likely to have been planning the work for some time (see Courtauld Sketchbook No. 2). The question remains, however, whether all the drawings in the book are from the same time. These are subjects from Milton: chiefly Satan, Sin and Death from Paradise Lost, but including Noah and his Ark and the biographical one of Milton's wife begging forgiveness from the poet after previously abandoning him (a subject later painted by Fuseli). Although Romney is known to have been thinking of tackling a subject from Milton's life before 1790, his phase of concentrated work on Milton subjects began only in late 1791, climaxing in the summer of 1792. It may be the case, therefore, that after using the sketchbook for the John Howard subjects, Romney laid it aside for eighteen months. This supposition receives some confirmation from the appearance on the first three pages of the book of several drafts of a letter to Emma, Lady Hamilton, in one of which Romney mentions that "the Cassandra is in the Shakespear gallery and much admired - the King and the Royal Family saw it…the Maid of Orleans is to go there also", which must date from 1792 at the earliest.
TE
The front cover of this sketchbook is inscribed in Romney's hand March 1790. Inside, there are numerous studies for John Howard visiting a Prison, a subject which, encouraged by Hayley, the artist presumably tackled immediately upon hearing the news of Howard's death in the Crimea in January 1790. These drawings divide into two groups: a few individual studies of the gaoler, and initial trials for the whole composition, which are carried out fairly simply. A number of rapid, dense and tonal drawings that are typical of Romney’s treatment of the subject were amongst the sheets removed from the volume between 1966 and 1982. Also removed, but of great interest, were four drawings for Boadicea in her Chariot. There are three, much earlier, related drawings in British Museum Sketchbook No. 3, and the subject appears in Hayley’s Hints for Pictures notebook (National Art Library), but these remain rare examlpes of a subject for which no further sheets are known.
Shakespearean subjects in the sketchbook include a single study for the Banqueting Scene from Macbeth and a drawing for The Indian Woman from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which shows the composition in a state very close to the completed painting of 1793. Romney is likely to have been planning the work for some time (see Courtauld Sketchbook No. 2). The question remains, however, whether all the drawings in the book are from the same time. These are subjects from Milton: chiefly Satan, Sin and Death from Paradise Lost, but including Noah and his Ark and the biographical one of Milton's wife begging forgiveness from the poet after previously abandoning him (a subject later painted by Fuseli). Although Romney is known to have been thinking of tackling a subject from Milton's life before 1790, his phase of concentrated work on Milton subjects began only in late 1791, climaxing in the summer of 1792. It may be the case, therefore, that after using the sketchbook for the John Howard subjects, Romney laid it aside for eighteen months. This supposition receives some confirmation from the appearance on the first three pages of the book of several drafts of a letter to Emma, Lady Hamilton, in one of which Romney mentions that "the Cassandra is in the Shakespear gallery and much admired - the King and the Royal Family saw it…the Maid of Orleans is to go there also", which must date from 1792 at the earliest.
TE
Location: Abbot Hall Art Gallery Kendal. Inventory No. 2523/83.
Provenance: ... T. Jones; bought from Mrs. P. Jones, London, in 1983 by the present owner.
Description: Graphite on wove paper; 14 x 23 cm; 16 interleaved pages, unnumbered; probably some pages removed; board and leather binding.
A note written on the first page by the previous owner states that this sketchbook was one of a group of four, the remainder of which were broken up at the time that this one was 'rescued', re-bound, and given sheets of interleaving in 1965.
The front cover bears the inscription, in Romney's hand: August 1793/ Prid [sic] and Fanaticism /Howard. Infact only one drawing for John Howard remains in the sketchbook, a dense study of writhing prisoners. Pride and Fanaticism refers to the studies of a crowd instigated by a devilish crouching figure to harass a lone man, and there are some studies of figures whose character recalls slightly earlier and ongoing Milton projects. (There are also a few sketches of house plans.) In connection with Pride and Fanaticism, Hayley records a visit from Romney to Eartham lasting from the second half of August through into September 1793 and on his return to London Romney sent Hayley his well-known description of the strongly-marked passions on the people he saw on the outskirts of the city: ‘deep design, disappointed ambition, envy, hatred’ .... The two men had no doubt discussed the course of the French Revolution and Romney may have projected an allegorical treatment of contemporary political developments.
Many of the pages of the sketchbook are blank, and the chief impression left by it is one of desultoriness and creative indecision. However, it seems likely that many leaves have been removed, and that it originally had a different character.
AK
Provenance: ... T. Jones; bought from Mrs. P. Jones, London, in 1983 by the present owner.
Description: Graphite on wove paper; 14 x 23 cm; 16 interleaved pages, unnumbered; probably some pages removed; board and leather binding.
A note written on the first page by the previous owner states that this sketchbook was one of a group of four, the remainder of which were broken up at the time that this one was 'rescued', re-bound, and given sheets of interleaving in 1965.
The front cover bears the inscription, in Romney's hand: August 1793/ Prid [sic] and Fanaticism /Howard. Infact only one drawing for John Howard remains in the sketchbook, a dense study of writhing prisoners. Pride and Fanaticism refers to the studies of a crowd instigated by a devilish crouching figure to harass a lone man, and there are some studies of figures whose character recalls slightly earlier and ongoing Milton projects. (There are also a few sketches of house plans.) In connection with Pride and Fanaticism, Hayley records a visit from Romney to Eartham lasting from the second half of August through into September 1793 and on his return to London Romney sent Hayley his well-known description of the strongly-marked passions on the people he saw on the outskirts of the city: ‘deep design, disappointed ambition, envy, hatred’ .... The two men had no doubt discussed the course of the French Revolution and Romney may have projected an allegorical treatment of contemporary political developments.
Many of the pages of the sketchbook are blank, and the chief impression left by it is one of desultoriness and creative indecision. However, it seems likely that many leaves have been removed, and that it originally had a different character.
AK
Location: High Museum of Art, Atlanta (Inv. No. 2004.14).
Provenance: by descent to Miss Elizabeth Romney; Christie’s 24-25 May 1894 (unknown lot number); C. Leonard; Capt. J. Jaffé, Johannesburg; … S. Huston; …Christie’s 20 November 1979 (10); bought by Hildegard and Clyde Ryals; by whom given in 2004 to the present owner.
Description: Graphite and pen and ink on laid paper; 16.5 x 21.5 cm; 42 leaves; leather and board binding with clasp.
Internal evidence suggests that this sketchbook was in use over a long period. Many of the identifiable sketches point to a date of 1786; these include a remarkable early idea in ink for Boys In a Boat Drifting Out to Sea and several trials for the figures of Prospero and Miranda in the Shipwreck from Act I of The Tempest; with Miranda in both the earlier ‘facing right’ and later ‘facing left’ poses (the latter suggesting that the book was still in use in 1787). An unusually panoramic idea for the meeting of Macbeth and Banquo with the three witches from Macbeth (the play Romney originally intended to illustrate for his first contribution to Boydell’s Shakespeare project) probably also dates from this year. But a detailed graphite study for the Initiation of a Rustic Nymph into the rites of Bacchus may be placed considerably earlier in the 1780s; and there is also what appears to be a sketch for the Girl with Her Dead Fawn, a subject which Romney began work on at Eartham in 1784. That the sketchbook may be associated with a visit to Eartham is also suggested by informal studies of girl servants carrying out domestic tasks, and, among the written material, a list of items to take to Eartham. A second list is of names of patrons, including Mrs Newbery (painted 1782-4); Mrs Ward (1781; a study for a full-length female portrait in the sketchbook is probably for this) Lord Carlisle (1780-81) and Sir Noah Thomas (1786).
AK
Provenance: by descent to Miss Elizabeth Romney; Christie’s 24-25 May 1894 (unknown lot number); C. Leonard; Capt. J. Jaffé, Johannesburg; … S. Huston; …Christie’s 20 November 1979 (10); bought by Hildegard and Clyde Ryals; by whom given in 2004 to the present owner.
Description: Graphite and pen and ink on laid paper; 16.5 x 21.5 cm; 42 leaves; leather and board binding with clasp.
Internal evidence suggests that this sketchbook was in use over a long period. Many of the identifiable sketches point to a date of 1786; these include a remarkable early idea in ink for Boys In a Boat Drifting Out to Sea and several trials for the figures of Prospero and Miranda in the Shipwreck from Act I of The Tempest; with Miranda in both the earlier ‘facing right’ and later ‘facing left’ poses (the latter suggesting that the book was still in use in 1787). An unusually panoramic idea for the meeting of Macbeth and Banquo with the three witches from Macbeth (the play Romney originally intended to illustrate for his first contribution to Boydell’s Shakespeare project) probably also dates from this year. But a detailed graphite study for the Initiation of a Rustic Nymph into the rites of Bacchus may be placed considerably earlier in the 1780s; and there is also what appears to be a sketch for the Girl with Her Dead Fawn, a subject which Romney began work on at Eartham in 1784. That the sketchbook may be associated with a visit to Eartham is also suggested by informal studies of girl servants carrying out domestic tasks, and, among the written material, a list of items to take to Eartham. A second list is of names of patrons, including Mrs Newbery (painted 1782-4); Mrs Ward (1781; a study for a full-length female portrait in the sketchbook is probably for this) Lord Carlisle (1780-81) and Sir Noah Thomas (1786).
AK
Location: Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, Vadodara, India. Inventory No. PG1 3B A
Provenance: ... Marion Spielmann; by whom bought from an unknown source about 1910-15 for the Maharajah of Baroda; transferred in 1921 to the present owner.
Description: Unavailable; the following notes are based on photographs kindly made available by Tim Wilcox.
Together with the other three Baroda sketchbooks, this volume appears to belong to the group of vellum-bound books measuring 20 x 16 cm that Romney turned to in the late 1760s as the Kendal Sketchbook began to be filled up. It is likely that they formed one lot, or part of one lot, at Miss Romney's sale in 1894 and remained together for the intervening period until they were acquired for the Baroda Museum.
This is the most disparate of the four in terms of its subject matter. Studies for portraits are evenly mixed with those for historical works. Among the former are several studies for a seated man in a wig and robes, and others for a whole- length of a man with his daughter. It is conceivable that the latter could be in some way connected with The Warren Family (1769), with the figure of Mrs Warren temporarily excluded, since elsewhere in the volume there are studies of the architecture of the Colosseum and other details of the Warren portrait. A sequence of studies of a man and woman seated at a table with a lantern may also be for a portrait, though they have more of the character of a work of fancy. Drawings which are not for portraits include a group of a reclining woman with a maid attendant, a detailed head of King Lear, and a multi-figure bacchanal scene, which might be a variant idea for Mirth (1770). Notes on the endpapers include Mr <Air> Eyre in Surrey/ Street Strand; Boyle framemaker in Poultney /Street - Golden Square (a rare piece of evidence concerning Romney's early framemakers); Mr. Fryer in Aldermanburry/ No. fifteen, and Robt. Dunkarton at the Oyl Jarr Markitt Street/ Newport Market. The printmaker Robert Dunkarton exhibited the first print after a work by Romney, his Two Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, at the Society of Artists in April 1770.
AK
Provenance: ... Marion Spielmann; by whom bought from an unknown source about 1910-15 for the Maharajah of Baroda; transferred in 1921 to the present owner.
Description: Unavailable; the following notes are based on photographs kindly made available by Tim Wilcox.
Together with the other three Baroda sketchbooks, this volume appears to belong to the group of vellum-bound books measuring 20 x 16 cm that Romney turned to in the late 1760s as the Kendal Sketchbook began to be filled up. It is likely that they formed one lot, or part of one lot, at Miss Romney's sale in 1894 and remained together for the intervening period until they were acquired for the Baroda Museum.
This is the most disparate of the four in terms of its subject matter. Studies for portraits are evenly mixed with those for historical works. Among the former are several studies for a seated man in a wig and robes, and others for a whole- length of a man with his daughter. It is conceivable that the latter could be in some way connected with The Warren Family (1769), with the figure of Mrs Warren temporarily excluded, since elsewhere in the volume there are studies of the architecture of the Colosseum and other details of the Warren portrait. A sequence of studies of a man and woman seated at a table with a lantern may also be for a portrait, though they have more of the character of a work of fancy. Drawings which are not for portraits include a group of a reclining woman with a maid attendant, a detailed head of King Lear, and a multi-figure bacchanal scene, which might be a variant idea for Mirth (1770). Notes on the endpapers include Mr <Air> Eyre in Surrey/ Street Strand; Boyle framemaker in Poultney /Street - Golden Square (a rare piece of evidence concerning Romney's early framemakers); Mr. Fryer in Aldermanburry/ No. fifteen, and Robt. Dunkarton at the Oyl Jarr Markitt Street/ Newport Market. The printmaker Robert Dunkarton exhibited the first print after a work by Romney, his Two Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, at the Society of Artists in April 1770.
AK
Location: Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, Vadodara, India. Inventory No. PG1 3B B
Provenance: ... Marion Spielmann; by whom bought from an unknown source about 1910-15 for the Maharajah of Baroda; transferred in 1921 to the present owner.
Description: Unavailable; the following notes are based on photographs kindly made available by Tim Wilcox.
Together with the other three Baroda sketchbooks, this volume appears to belong to the group of vellum-bound books measuring 20 x 16 cm that Romney turned to in the late 1760s as the Kendal Sketchbook began to be filled up. It is likely that they formed one lot, or part of one lot, at Miss Romney's sale in 1894 and remained together for the intervening period until they were acquired for the Baroda Museum.
This sketchbook, like Baroda No. 1, contains a mixture of studies for portraits and non-portraits. Few subjects of either type are recognizable, but among the former is a thumbnail sketch of an oval portrait annotated Ldy M which must refer to the portrait of Lady Melbourne of about 1771 (sold Christie’s 24 November 1998 (44)). There is also a cluster of studies for the portrait of a mother and child formerly known as The Duchess of Gordon and Son; similar studies appear in Courtauld No. 1. A group of studies for a pair of whole lengths, one male, one female, in robes, may relate to the portraits of Lord and Lady Arundell of Wardour. There are numerous studies for a half-length of a lady playing the banjo or guitar, and for a portrait of a couple reading. Simple head and shoulders studies of women pre-dominate, but there are also some of men, and one page is annotated by the artist Vandyke heads. There are also studies for the Mother and Child exhibited in 1771, for Hagar and the Angel, and for an unusual whole-length treatment of Venus and Cupid, with an uncharacteristically voluptuous Venus. In general, the mother and child theme dominates the character of the sketchbook. However, the volume is also notable for the most extended sequence of studies of an écorché anywhere in Romney's sketchbooks. Annotations to the endpapers include Mrs Racket, Lord Barlow [?] and Mr Ward will be here & Mrs Walkers.
AK
Provenance: ... Marion Spielmann; by whom bought from an unknown source about 1910-15 for the Maharajah of Baroda; transferred in 1921 to the present owner.
Description: Unavailable; the following notes are based on photographs kindly made available by Tim Wilcox.
Together with the other three Baroda sketchbooks, this volume appears to belong to the group of vellum-bound books measuring 20 x 16 cm that Romney turned to in the late 1760s as the Kendal Sketchbook began to be filled up. It is likely that they formed one lot, or part of one lot, at Miss Romney's sale in 1894 and remained together for the intervening period until they were acquired for the Baroda Museum.
This sketchbook, like Baroda No. 1, contains a mixture of studies for portraits and non-portraits. Few subjects of either type are recognizable, but among the former is a thumbnail sketch of an oval portrait annotated Ldy M which must refer to the portrait of Lady Melbourne of about 1771 (sold Christie’s 24 November 1998 (44)). There is also a cluster of studies for the portrait of a mother and child formerly known as The Duchess of Gordon and Son; similar studies appear in Courtauld No. 1. A group of studies for a pair of whole lengths, one male, one female, in robes, may relate to the portraits of Lord and Lady Arundell of Wardour. There are numerous studies for a half-length of a lady playing the banjo or guitar, and for a portrait of a couple reading. Simple head and shoulders studies of women pre-dominate, but there are also some of men, and one page is annotated by the artist Vandyke heads. There are also studies for the Mother and Child exhibited in 1771, for Hagar and the Angel, and for an unusual whole-length treatment of Venus and Cupid, with an uncharacteristically voluptuous Venus. In general, the mother and child theme dominates the character of the sketchbook. However, the volume is also notable for the most extended sequence of studies of an écorché anywhere in Romney's sketchbooks. Annotations to the endpapers include Mrs Racket, Lord Barlow [?] and Mr Ward will be here & Mrs Walkers.
AK
Location: Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery, Vadodara, India. Inventory No. PG1 3B C
Provenance: ... Marion Spielmann; by whom bought from an unknown source about 1910-15 for the Maharajah of Baroda; transferred in 1921 to the present owner.
Description: Unavailable; the following notes are based on photographs kindly made available by Tim Wilcox.
Together with the other three Baroda sketchbooks, this volume appears to belong to the group of vellum-bound books measuring 20 x 16 cm that Romney turned to in the late 1760s as the Kendal Sketchbook began to be filled up. It is likely that they formed one lot, or part of one lot, at Miss Romney's sale in 1894 and remained together for the intervening period until they were acquired for the Baroda Museum.
This is probably the latest in date of the four Baroda sketchbooks and is dominated by studies for Biblical subjects. Romney may have had the idea of reserving it for this use although typically, he was not consistent in carrying it through. One page contains a list of some of these subjects in the artist's hand, which has been unusually carefully written out: Susanah/ Moses before Farohs Daughter/ Hagar and the Angel/ Abraham offering his son Isack/ The Three Maries at the Tomb of Christ. Numerous studies occur for the Susannah, the Hagar and the Abraham and Isaac. Non-biblical drawings include a single, extremely unusual graphite sketch of a sharp featured woman in profile, probably drawn from the life, and there are also studies for Mrs Yates as the Tragic Muse exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1771; these offer the best evidence for the dating of the sketchbook.
AK
Provenance: ... Marion Spielmann; by whom bought from an unknown source about 1910-15 for the Maharajah of Baroda; transferred in 1921 to the present owner.
Description: Unavailable; the following notes are based on photographs kindly made available by Tim Wilcox.
Together with the other three Baroda sketchbooks, this volume appears to belong to the group of vellum-bound books measuring 20 x 16 cm that Romney turned to in the late 1760s as the Kendal Sketchbook began to be filled up. It is likely that they formed one lot, or part of one lot, at Miss Romney's sale in 1894 and remained together for the intervening period until they were acquired for the Baroda Museum.
This is probably the latest in date of the four Baroda sketchbooks and is dominated by studies for Biblical subjects. Romney may have had the idea of reserving it for this use although typically, he was not consistent in carrying it through. One page contains a list of some of these subjects in the artist's hand, which has been unusually carefully written out: Susanah/ Moses before Farohs Daughter/ Hagar and the Angel/ Abraham offering his son Isack/ The Three Maries at the Tomb of Christ. Numerous studies occur for the Susannah, the Hagar and the Abraham and Isaac. Non-biblical drawings include a single, extremely unusual graphite sketch of a sharp featured woman in profile, probably drawn from the life, and there are also studies for Mrs Yates as the Tragic Muse exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1771; these offer the best evidence for the dating of the sketchbook.
AK
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Location: Kendal Town Hall, Kendal, Cumbria
Provenance: By descent to Miss Elizabeth Romney; Christie 24- 25 May 1894 (unknown lot no.); ... Otto Beit; Alfred Beit; from whom bought for £50 by the Trustees of the Farleton Tithes; by whom presented in 1955 to the present owner. Description: Graphite, iron gall ink, black and red chalk on paper; 47 x 37 cm; 52 pages, some pages removed; both recto and verso are numbered, 104 numbered pages in all; watermark of J Whatman. The sketchbook was rebound by the Zaehnsdorf firm, founded by Budapest-native Joseph Zaehnsdorf in 1842, in green morocco gilt, now somewhat faded; the back and front are tooled to a geometric design inlaid with red and black morocco, with green watered-silk linings.. Books bound by Zaehnsdorf were well crafted and in high demand by prominent English book collectors; Joseph William Zaehnsdorf (1853-1930), who took over the firm after his father's death, published a detailed "how-to" book on bookbinding techniques (The Art of Bookbinding, London, Bell, 1890). |
Images |
Introduction |
Page 1
At the top of the page to the left of center, in brown ink, are the names Hodgson (or Hodghson) Bradley, followed at the right, also in brown ink by an address, written twice: ‘No. 4 Inner Temple Lane up 3 pair of stairs.’ The Petworth House Archives (held by the West Sussex Record Office) have receipted bills dating between 1756-1760, which include some from ‘Bradley & Hodgson, carriers, Kendal’ (PHA /6647). Eighteenth-century English bullock drivers were known as ‘carriers’. Bradley and Hodgson might have been engaged by Romney in the early 1760s to transport items for him from Kendal to London or vice versa. In a letter of 30 March 1762, for example, he asked his wife to send paintings to him from Kendal ‘rolled up in a box, by the first waggon…’.
Written along the length of the page, also in brown ink, is another notation, most of which is difficult to decipher: ‘Mr Daves/Gloster Street [unreadable]/of the/Co[?] Joinson Collculla.’ These cryptic words are tantalizing. ‘Colculla’ (spelled with one less ‘l’) is the name of a character in Temora an Ossianic poem published by James Macpherson in 1763. Macpherson had earlier (1760) published Fragments of Ancient Poetry, Collected in the Highlands of Scotland, and in 1762, his most celebrated Ossianic poem, Fingal, was published. Romney, in his quest for historical and literary subjects and with his instinct to strike out in new directions in his subject matter, did illustrate Macpherson’s Ossian poems later, yet drawings on Ossianic subjects do not appear to be present in the Kendal Sketchbook.
Four vivid black chalk studies occupy the middle of this page. The first is a profile of a man's face, from forehead to chin, with a distinctive Roman nose and full lips. Set on top of this, heightened with white chalk, is a nuanced study of a left hand, its third finger gracefully
curved. (For other hand drawings see 27 and 94). A third drawing, easy to overlook because it is so small, is a tiny sphere, carefully outlined and shaded, appearing to the right of the hand study. The source of light is carefully observed, casting a dark pool of shadow below and to the left of this object.
The fourth, most arresting, of these black chalk studies depicts the head of a balding, bearded man, that of the Greek Stoic philosopher Chrysippus (c.279-206 BC). Marble heads of Chrysippus are in the Louvre (MR 529), the British Museum (Payne Knight collection), and the Vatican museums, among other collections. Romney's drawing takes slight liberties with standard images of the philosopher in that his Chrysippus has a beard that coils inwards towards the center. Classical marbles, reproduced in plaster of Paris, were readily available in the 18th century in shops like that on the Strand owned by John Flaxman’s father. William Hayley notes that Romney frequented the shop of John Flaxman’s father ‘to purchase figures in plaster’ (a list of six casts and what the artist paid for them is preserved in Barrow No. 1). Nevertheless, it is more likely that the Chrysippus head and the other chalk drawings on this page were studied from casts in the Duke of Richmond’s gallery of casts. The similarity of Romney's head to one appearing in a self-portrait by John Hamilton Mortimer suggests that both artists had access to the same casts in the Duke of Richmond’s gallery. Clearly, Romney had made this drawing by 1764 at the latest as a head nearly identical to the one studied here (and that in 104) appears in Romney's painting of Elizabeth, Lady Blunt, which dates to the latter half of 1764. Two casts of the same head also appear in A Conversation, exhibited in 1766.
The other chalk drawings on the page could also have been made in the Duke of Richmond's gallery, which had casts of the hands of Charity and Fortitude from Bernini's monument to Alexander VII and hands from Pierre Le Gros’s silver and copper statue of St. Ignatius. This carefully shaded hand study, with highlights of white chalk, would have aided Romney in painting hands in his portraits. For information on the cast gallery see John Kenworthy-Browne, ‘The Duke of Richmond's Gallery in Whitehall’ British Art Journal X/1, 2009.
At the bottom of the page, upside-down is a drawing in brown ink of two reclining figures. To the left of the Chrysippus head, in landscape orientation, is a faint graphite drawing of a figure kneeling over a supine figure with a full head of hair and beard. Also in graphite, above the hand study are additional notations including the numbers: ‘1/2, 11, 1= 77 and 1-’.
The mixture of media and techniques on this page, plus the inclusion of notations and aides memoire provide a meaningful introduction to Romney's manner as a draftsman. His sketchbooks are often an assemblage of unrelated material, suggesting an unsystematic approach. As an idea presented itself, the artist jotted it down, crowding images onto a page in random orientation, sometimes including written notations as well.
Page 2
A male figure in a two-wheeled chariot races on an upward diagonal behind speeding horses. At lower left is an indistinct figure, which could be a participant in the scene, or perhaps, more likely, an alternate pose for the figure in the chariot. Scribbled lines behind the chariot could suggest landscape elements. It is conceivable the subject may be Romney's recollection of the Fountain of Apollo at Versailles, a dramatic sculptural assemblage by Jean-Baptiste Tuby, dating from 1668-1671. Thomas Greene, who travelled to Paris with Romney in 1764, noted that the two ‘walked about in the gardens [of Versailles] admiring the fine marble statues…’. Tuby's complex sculpture of gilded bronze is sure to have made an impact on Romney as he and Greene wandered through the gardens. Baroque paintings which included chariots could also have influenced him.
Page 3
At bottom left on the page, oriented in landscape mode, is a thumbnail half-length portrait study of a woman. Such a mixing of small, thumbnail portrait studies with other types of drawings is characteristic of this sketchbook. This is the first of such drawings to appear. The composition, marked off by lines, completely fills the demarcated area. Within a landscape setting, the figure stands beside a fountain topped by sculpture adorned with infant nudes. This is a study for the portrait Mrs Judith Clive, c.1764. (See similar studies in 30 and at the bottom of 12.)
At the right side of the page, two additional rectangles are delineated, but the compositions within are unreadable. Eight additional faint sketches appear on the page. Three show figures from the back, two seated, one standing. One drawing at mid-page depicts the upper body of a woman in contemporary dress, left arm raised. To the left of this figure, sideways, is an almost unintelligible frontal crouching figure, and to its right are two very faint studies of heads. At the upper left of the page is a bare-legged figure shown di sotto in su with draperies swirling above its waist. (See note on 5.)
Page 4
Six drawings, two of them extremely faint, depict a winged, flying figure. (The wings appear most clearly on the figure lowest on the page). In the two most readable drawings, the right leg is shown in alternate poses. (See also 3 and 5.)
Page 5
On this page we see Romney’s mind moving on parallel tracks, combining portrait studies with subject ideas. The fairly detailed composition drawing occupying the upper part of this sheet is a fully realized presentation of a subject related to figure studies in 3 and 4. In this apotheosis scene, we see a di sotto in su image of a bearded man with flowing hair, wafted heavenward by a winged angel and four cherubs, one with visible wings. The man wears flowing robes, which leave his legs bare from the knee down. Curiously, the face of the flying figure, which bears the load of the man's body, has been scratched out with repeated lines.
What is surprising is that Romney could have been drawn to such a subject in the first place. It is true that the Italian decorative painters Cipriani and Zucchi were by now both in England, and cycles of paintings for lunettes and ceilings were being painted in London and at country seats. However, Romney could hardly have expected to be commissioned for such works. What is impressive is that he could be inspired by such a wide variety of poses in the first place and so eclectic in the images he chose to set down in his sketchbooks. It is possible he was simply intrigued by the unusual poses afforded by a vantage point ‘from below upwards’ and wanted to expand his abilities to represent the human figure in as wide a variety of poses as possible. That Romney took note of such sky-borne stagings is corroborated by his reference to The Assumption of the Virgin by Corregio [sic], or Parmigiano [sic], which he saw in Genoa en route to Rome in 1773. As he wrote in his travel journal, ‘The figure of the virgin is suspended in the clouds in a very becoming posture … She is surrounded by a group of angels and children’.
The apotheosis scene here was clearly influenced by various ceiling paintings or large canvases Romney could have seen in London and Paris. His composition appears to be a free adaptation combining two sources: Domenichino's St. Paul Being Borne Aloft and Le Sueur’s St Bruno is Carried Up to Heaven. Romney could have seen both these works while visiting Paris with Thomas Greene in 1764. The Domenichino painting had been in the French Royal collections
since before 1695, and Le Sueur’s painting was in the Carthusian monastery in Paris, which, as we know from Thomas Greene's account, Romney visited twice. These connections raise the possibility that Romney took this sketchbook with him to Paris in August of 1764. Certain additional drawings in the sketchbook lend support to that speculation, among them 45, 64 and 78. It is possible Romney was inspired by apotheosis paintings he saw in Paris to contemplate a painting on the subject of the apotheosis of Shakespeare.
On the lower half of the page, two studies for a group portrait are marked out within rectangles. These are the first drawings in the sketchbook for The Warren Family, a commission Romney received during his 1767 visit to Lancaster. The painting was completed by spring of 1769, and was included in the exhibition of the Free Society of Artists that opened on May 1 of that year. The Kendal sketchbook has at least fifteen studies for this painting on six different pages, or possibly more, depending upon how one interprets several very faint drawings. In the completed portrait, Sir George Warren stands to the left, his right arm extended, gesturing towards the Roman Colosseum in the background; Lady Warren sits in the center, while the child, Elizabeth, stands at the right holding a bird. The two drawings on this page present a composition different from that of the painting and different from one another. Both drawings show the father standing at the right and the mother seated. The position of the child is the major difference between the drawings: In the one to the left, the child is in the center; in the other drawing she stands to the left of her mother. Romney worked on The Warren Family at widely separated points in the sketchbook (See 7, 18, 20, 82, and 96), using the drawings to try out various compositional arrangements.
Page 6
Marked out in landscape orientation at the center of the page is a subject that will capture Romney's attention in at least thirteen composition drawings and figural studies in this sketchbook. The basic composition shows two males urging a third towards a waiting boat, manned by additional figures. The reluctant male looks back toward a female, nude above the waist, lying face up on the ground in front of dark rocks or a cavern. In this particular drawing an additional head appears in the central group, but this is likely an alternate pose for the figure in the middle. (A faint additional study of figures from the composition appears just to the right.)
The subject may be identified as Rinaldo abandoning Armida, an episode from Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata. The episode occurs in Canto XVI, lines 425-28 and 437-44 wherein Carlo and Ubaldo persuade Rinaldo to leave Armida and rejoin the crusaders' battles:
She could no more; as these last words she spoke,
Scarce from her lips the sounds imperfect broke.
She faints! She sinks! all breathless pale she lies
In chilly sweats, and shuts her languid eyes...
'Twixt life and death her struggling senses lost?
Compassion pleads, and courtesy detains;
But dire necessity his flight constrains.
He parts:--and now a friendly breeze prevails,
(The pilot's tresses waving in the gales)
The golden sail o'er surging ocean speeds,
And from the sight the flying shore recedes.
(Trans. Hoole, 1763)
Tasso's epic poem was enjoying a revival in popularity in England during this period. Philip Doyne's translation of the poem, The Delivery of Jerusalem, was published in 1 761, and John Hoole published another translation, Jerusalem Delivered, in 1763. Romney was not alone in turning to Tasso's epic poem for inspiration. For example, Benjamin West produced a painting based on the poem in the l760s, and Angelica Kauffmann painted at least three scenes based on the poem, exhibiting them at the Royal Academy in the l770s. Romney's composition is close in concept to a 1742/1745 painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (See other drawings on this subject in 20, 23, 24, 28, 34, 75, 80, 81, and 93). The identification of this drawing as a scene from Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata is further strengthened by the fact that Romney also dealt with another episode from this poem, Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden, in an equally large number of sketches in the sketchbook (See 22.) At the bottom of the page are two sketches of a seated woman.
Page 7At top right is a study for The Warren Family. Here, in contrast to drawings in 5, Lady Warren stands while her husband sits. The child stands between them. Curved lines in the background may suggest the Colosseum in Rome, which features in the finished painting. This drawing overlaps a faint image of a well-muscled figure, right arm raised.
Two drawings to the left of the page may be early ideas for Romney's portrait of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. This is suggested by the fact that the seated woman rests her arm upon an urn, a symbol of mortality. In one of the drawings, two small figures crouch at this figure's feet. Conversely, these could be part of a sculptural relief on the support for the urn. The present drawing is the first in the sketchbook to show a seated female in a double portrait touching an urn. The others in the group are in 21, 43, 45, and 51. In the upper drawing, a second woman, right arm raised, stands behind the seated figure, while in the lower drawing this figure holds a staff (perhaps a shepherd's crook) in her upraised arm as she bends towards the seated woman. (For related drawings showing the second figure holding a staff see 43, 47, 51, and 52.) As the staff has no direct connection with the theme of mortality, the reason for its inclusion is unclear. Also likely to be portrait studies are six slight sketches depicting a seated woman with two, sometimes three, children. (See two similar, more detailed, depictions of this group in 36.)
Page 8The most striking image on this page is a densely shaded study of a kneeling woman with arms outspread. The dramatic lighting striking the woman from above infuses the scene with a spiritual quality, reinforced by the woman's kneeling pose and rapt expression. The woman is either veiled or has long, flowing hair. In 1765, Romney exhibited A lady’s head, in the character of a saint, three quarters. This drawing may be related to that painting. See 10 and 30 for additional studies of this figure. These drawings appear to have been directly influenced by Charles Le Brun's The Repentant Magdalen, which Romney saw in the Carmelite church in Paris in 1764 and which was singled out in Thomas Greene's journal as a work which excited their attention.
On the lower half of the page, five nearly identical drawings depict a standing woman facing the viewer, presumably portrait studies. Another drawing shows a casually seated man looking upwards at a woman in an apron and mob cap (or bonnet), whose right arm is raised. A line (a broom?) slants downward. A genre scene rather than a portrait is suggested. Above the middle of the page is a slight sketch of the same seated man, here reversed. At the top of the page, left, is another drawing of a standing woman and a seated male, but here the woman wears a full-sleeved gown and no cap. At mid-page, right, is a faintly rendered scene with several figures that is difficult to interpret.
Page 9At the bottom of the page, left, is the same pair seen at top left in 8, a stylishly-clad woman with modish hairdo standing before a seated male. Here the drawing is in brown ink, crossed through with lines.
In the center at the bottom of the page is a carefully shaded head of a female wearing a headband and peaked cap pushed back on her head. The fastidious shading and careful observation of this face present a striking contrast to all the other drawings on the page. The artist's meticulous concentration has produced a tiny, realistic gem, a testament to his powers of observation. This facial type was echoed later in one of the women in the artist's Sir Roger de Coverley and the Gypsies, of c. 1770.
At mid-page, upside down, are two drawings, enclosed within lines, depicting a seated female, both legs bent sharply at the knee and right arm extended along a support. A kneeling infant extends its head towards her bared breast. Roundish forms in one of the drawings may imply additional figures. The bared breast and the infant suggest a Charity or a Madonna Lactans subject, although the curiously animated pose of the woman and the infant's awkward reach towards the breast subvert such interpretations. A third, faint sketch of the woman and infant appears below these drawings.
At the top of the page, also upside down, is a frontal standing female in contrapposto. Three figures viewed from behind depart at left. This drawing is related to drawings in 12.
Page 10The kneeling woman seen in 8, possibly a study for A lady s head, in the character of a saint, three quarters, appears again here in four studies (see also 30). Oddly, the most detailed of these, within a rectangle and densely shaded, cuts the women's extended left leg off at the knee. One of the drawings reflects the pose of the figure in 8, with the arms flung wide; the other drawings vary the pose, with one or both of the woman's arms bent at the elbow. A standing woman at bottom right may be related to these drawings though it also bears similarities to figures on the following page (11). Two additional faint sketches of standing figures complete the images on this page.
Page 11All the drawings on this page are upside down. In four particularly engaging drawings, a standing woman varies her pose in an almost cinematic manner. Gracefully managed draperies enhance the figure's allure. The artist's precise observation suggests the finesse of Watteau. With deft economy, Romney captures the woman's tiny feet with their mincing gait and renders hand gestures with the utmost delicacy. Three drawings marked off within rectangles depict two standing and one seated woman. These drawings, more evidently than the others on the page, are intended as portrait studies. A tiny face at mid-page, left, is related to the drawings of standing women above and below it. Additional vague marks are difficult to decipher.
Page 12A composition at mid-page right is echoed by figure studies above it. (All are upside down.) It may be an idea for a subject picture rather than a portrait. Supporting this view is the fact that a figure at the left is half cut off and shown from the back. In addition, the principal figure in the composition is shown in vigorous contrapposto rather than in the repose more typical of portraits. Two very similar drawings in landscape orientation are half-length studies of a woman in a landscape. The pose of this figure is similar to that of two of the full-length figures on the previous page (11).
A drawing upside down at the bottom of the page provides an interesting demonstration of Romney’s graphic method. Lightly delineating the female figure in graphite, the artist next starts adding dense shading, beginning at the right (when the drawing is viewed right side up). This is an unusual piecemeal method to use in applying chiaroscuro. The woman’s pose and the widecollared cloak she wears are suggestive of Romney’s Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle, c.1764. A very faint sketch of a woman's head and torso at mid-page is probably unrelated to other drawings on the page.
Page 13All the drawings on the page are upside down. At the bottom, eight standing female figures rush through space, displaying a variety of poses and gestures. With split second timing, the artist captures the moving pageant of life going on about him with the same verve as in 11. One of the figures wears a wide-collared cloak like the figure in a portrait study at the bottom of 12; possibly both drawings are related to the portrait of Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle (c. 1764).
Six drawings depict male figures. In two of these the man is seated. In four others, he stands. The poses reflect common types Romney had by this time adopted in his portraiture. Of great interest here is the transformation that the standing male figure undergoes. Twice shown in contemporary dress (coat, waistcoat, and breeches), the figure appears to be studied for a portrait. Abruptly, the staging changes: The striding figure now wears Roman armor and a plumed hat or helmet and brandishes a dagger. While the man's right arm now makes a different gesture, his legs are identical. (See 15 for a discussion of the possible subject of this drawing.) Trapped by ‘this cursed portrait painting’ in order to earn his livelihood, Romney was always seeking to excel, instead, in the loftier art of history painting. That ambivalence finds direct expression on this page, as an eighteenth-century male becomes transformed into an actor in a historical drama.
The emotionally-charged figure standing by herself upside down at top left prefigures, in her active, expressive pose, various identities Emma Hart would assume as Romney's model, beginning in the 1780s.
Page 14Two drawings on this page relate to Romney's important early masterpiece of 1763, The Death of General Wolfe (now lost). A figure lying on the ground, supported by a second figure, shows, in reverse, the same figure that appears in two drawings in 15. With careful modeling, the artist conveys Wolfe's powerful musculature. The sharply bent head suggests the figure is dying. In a second carefully modeled drawing below, two figures support the slumping body of the mortally wounded general. It is curious that these drawings appear next to three studies, in brown ink, of the figure of Melancholy, a painting the artist exhibited in 1770. Employing different media and placed upside down in relation to the Wolfe drawings, the drawings of Melancholy must have been opportunistically inserted at a later date to fill an empty spot in the sketchbook. (One of the drawings is actually superimposed on a slight graphite sketch beneath.) The calligraphic fluency and ease of their style sharply contrast with the sober, carefully shaded forms of the Wolfe drawings. Likewise, Melancholy's elongated figure, formed of flowing S-shaped curves and wearing generalized rather than contemporary clothing, forms an instructive contrast with the more directly observed graphite figures of the young women in 13. There are other drawings for Melancholy in Barrow sketchbook No. 1 and Truro sketchbook No. 1, and many have appeared on the open market.
The graphite sketches of the Wolfe composition here and in 15 are the only preliminary drawings thus far identified although two oil sketches (Abbot Hall Gallery, Kendal and New Brunswick Museum, Canada) have been associated with the Wolfe painting. Two faint sketches of a seated male, in one case holding a tablet, appear upside down at bottom right.
Page 15Two drawings related to The Death of General Wolfe (1763) appear at the bottom of this sheet. These conform to the contemporary description of the painting cited by Jennifer C. Watson (Jennifer C. Watson: George Romney in Canada (1985) p. 21): ‘The Genl. Is represented leaning against & supported (by) two Officers who Express great Concern, the Blood appears trickling from the Wound in his Wrist & from that in his Breast agt. which one of the Officers holds his Hand a third Officer is coming to the Genl. (to) inform him the french give way & appears greatly struck with Surprize.’ In the lightly sketched drawing at the left, the ‘third Officer’ mentioned in this description enters the scene. The second drawing, filled in with shading, includes a battle flag, balanced by a stubby tree to the right. Here, the modeling of the figure of Wolfe is more cursory than in 14. Three sketches, upside down, of a supine figure are also probably connected to the Wolfe composition.
Another figural grouping above the Wolfe studies depicts a collapsing woman supported by two other figures; a third figure rushes away at the right. This figural grouping recalls the group of three figures in 14, yet is definitely not related to The Death of General Wolfe. For Romney, a particular pose could often trigger an idea for an entirely different subject, as evidenced here. A faint sketch at top right is another study of this collapsing woman.
At top left is the same dagger-wielding warrior clad in a plumed helmet and Roman armor first seen in 13. Here, the armband attached to the man's faintly-indicated shield is evident. A pool of shadow to the right gives the figure spatial context. It is possible this may represent Lucius Junius Brutus, legendary founder of the Roman Republic. After Lucretia's rape by Tarquin and her subsequent suicide, Lucretia's body was taken to the Roman forum, where Brutus raised his dagger and swore an oath to drive the Tarquinii from Rome. For other drawings which may be associated with the Lucretia story see 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 53, and 78.
Page 16At the bottom of the page is a fully worked up, densely shaded composition drawing based on a version of Titian's Venus and Adonis. Titian's concept of the myth was accessible during the 18th Century through various autograph versions, workshop products, copies, and engravings. (Over thirty such versions survive today.) The painted version Romney would have seen was one that was in the Orleans collection at the Palais Royal when he and Thomas Greene visited Paris in 1764. Yet, in that version, Adonis wears a hunter's cap. Further, since Romney shows the original composition in reverse, he must have been working from an engraving. Even here, however, he takes liberties in copying Titian's composition. Venus's left leg is hanging down rather than splayed out, and Adonis is depicted almost directly above Venus rather than to the side. Finally, instead of the sleeping Eros in the background, there are two putti toying with arrows. Given Romney's susceptibility to the charms of female beauty and his desire to improve his ability to render the female nude, Titian's painting was a logical subject for him to study. Evidence of Romney's interest in Titian and Venetian art in general is suggested by his notation in RA Sketchbook No. 2: ‘Aretin a Dialogue on Painting.’ This must refer to Lodovico Dolce' s l'Aretino, which concludes with a paean to Titian). For another drawing featuring Venus and Adonis see l00.
At mid-page, upside down, is a seated half-draped figure with a putto at its knees. The upraised left arm echoes that of Adonis above. However, this cannot be a representation of Adonis. Instead, it mirrors similar drawings later in the sketchbook. (See note on 19 and also 38 and 79). Two scribbly sketches of a striding female figure appear upside down at the top of the page. This figure closely resembles one in two drawings in 12.
Page 17Three studies of a nude woman reaching out to grasp a standing male about the waist are clearly derived from Romney’s study of the print of Titian’s Venus and Adonis (see 16). Here Venus has become a more athletic figure in Romney's powerful reworking of the poses. The figure twists with a dynamic torsion expressive of energy and emotion, different from the harmonious plenitude conveyed by Titian’s Venus, as mirrored in Romney's copy. Romney has internalized the lessons learned from Titian to express himself in an idiom all his own. Below the middle of the page is a faint sketch of extended legs and an outstretched body, presumably related to the drawings above.
At the bottom of the page is a lightly sketched group of dancers. Romney often sketched dancing figures, which are found in many of his works. If this sketch was purpose-driven, it could be that it expresses an idea for dancers in the bacchanalian relief seen in the background of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. See additional drawings of dancers in 40, 41, 44, 72, and 76. (The dancers here are somewhat similar to those in 40.)
Page 18Three studies for The Warren Family appear upside down on this page. (See note in 5.) In two of the drawings, the father sits at the left, the child is in the center, and the stepmother stands at the right. The third drawing changes this arrangement. There, the father stands at the left, the mother sits in the center, and the child stands at the right. It is this arrangement (seen also in 82 and 96) that was adopted in the completed painting. At this point, however, Romney is still experimenting with the arrangement of the figures.
There are scribbled lines at the left side of the page. A slight sketch of a dancing figure and a shaded object (a foreshortened book?) appear at bottom right. The dancer echoes the pose of two similar figures in 39.
Page 19An intriguing composition appears in landscape orientation at the bottom right of this sheet. Viewed upright, it shows a woman, arm extended, staring down at a man lying face up in her lap. His legs are bent over the side of what could be a bier. A robed figure shines a lantern upon the couple. Beyond the dark interior, shown in perspective, is a backdrop of dark clouds obscuring the moon in a night sky. One immediately thinks of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene 3, when Juliet recovers from her drugged, death-like sleep to find her lover dead from poison. Romney did not produce a painting on this subject in the 1760s, nor did he explore it as a topic in the mid-1780s, after the launching of the Boydell Shakespeare Galle ry. Yet this powerful drawing suggests he could have created an impressive work based on Romeo and Juliet in the Tomb had he pursued this composition further. A second, very slight, rendering of the female with the body across her lap is at the right of the fully worked-up composition.
The elongated vertical format of Romney's tomb scene suggests a bookplate illustration. Nicholas Rowe's 1709 edition of Romeo and Juliet had as its frontispiece an engraving of the tomb scene by Elisha Kirkall after Francois Boitard. Later illustrations, which incorporated Friar Laurence holding a lantern, include those by Gerard Vander Gucht after Hubert Gravelot (1740) and by Anthony Walker (1754). While Romney may have been familiar with one or another of these prints, his own design is superior to them in its concentrated focus and simplicity. The earlier illustrations, instead, are overwhelmed with subsidiary details. The murky lighting effects and the fact that the scene takes place in a stage-like setting against a flat backdrop lead one to also consider whether current theatrical performance influenced Romney. However, Romeo and Juliet, as currently performed, had been rewritten by David Garrick to have Juliet wake up before Romeo dies, and the two have a few final moments together. In 1753, Benjamin Wilson had painted Garrick as Romeo, standing with right arm raised in amazement as Juliet awakens and rises from her bier. This treatment is very different from Romney’s, which is closer to the text as Shakespeare wrote it in that Romeo is already dead in Juliet’s lap. Below the center of the page to the left are three studies of a figure in a similar pose to that of a seated figure in 16. Here, the figure’s face is frontal and clearly female. The most detailed of these three drawings includes the putto seen also in 16, touching the female figure's right hand. Though not exact copies, these drawings evoke comparison with Terpsichore, the muse of dance, by the seventeenth-century French painter Eustache Le Sueur for the Chamber of the Muses in the Hotel Lambert between 1652-55 (now in the Louvre). A companion painting in this suite of pictures, Urania, the muse of astronomy, is shown in a roughly similar pose. Romney was particularly responsive to the art of Le Sueur. Though he did not favor the work of contemporary French painters, ‘those of the time of Louis the fourteenth are very great, and every church and palace is filled with them’, he wrote in a letter to his brother Peter. As John Romney observes, ‘Among the French painters, the works of Le Sueur seemed to coincide the most with his own ideas’. Thomas Greene’s journal of his trip to Paris with Romney in 1764 mentions Le Sueur three times, so we know this painter received special consideration. Le Sueur’s pretty feminine types, with their sweetness and harmonious coloring, were bound to appeal to Romney. A total of seven drawings of this figure appear in the Kendal Sketchbook (see 17, 19, 38, 79). Upside-down to the other images on the sheet are a male in contemporary dress, perhaps a portrait study, and a standing female reaching towards an object held by a putto.
Page 20On this page, as on many others in the sketchbook, Romney mixes portrait studies with subject compositions. The five portrait studies, ranging from a slight scribble to an amply shaded study contained within rectangular borders, all show a man, a woman, and female child. They are, without doubt, trial groupings for the figures in The Warren Family (see also 5, 7, 18, 82, and 96). The drawing at bottom left is set down on top of the figure of Armida, a figure at the right in a composition drawing for Rinaldo abandoning Armida, first seen in 6. (This composition should be viewed in landscape orientation.) The central group of figures in this composition, Rinaldo and his two companions, appear to the left of Armida, and the boat is faintly indicated further to the left. Another drawing of Rinaldo and one of his companions appears upside down at top center on the page.
Page 21The largest drawing on this sheet depicts a seated woman leaning backwards, grasping a nude male about the buttocks. This may be, as in 17, another instance of Romney's reworking a pose ultimately derived from Titian's Venus and Adonis (see 16), demonstrating his ability to redirect a particular pose towards a different subject. Here the figures are reversed from those in the artist's study after Titian. In addition, the female is shown from the front, the male from the back. Though the lower part of the woman’s body, with one leg studied in alternate poses, appears unclothed, a waistband and sleeve suggest she is not. The male is nude. At top left, upside down, is a sensitively rendered drawing of a seated female nude, arms upraised and legs crossed at the ankle. A second, scarcely readable sketch, which may also depict this figure, is at bottom right.
Just above the center of the page is a sketch for the composition seen in 19, Romeo and Juliet in the Tomb, though here the woman appears to the left rather than in the center. The extravagant bent-knee pose of Romeo suggests a signature pose of Garrick's, as reflected in Hogarth’s and Hayman’s depictions of the actor. However, Garrick's staging of Romeo and Juliet is not consistent with Romney’s depiction of the tomb scene since the actor rewrote the ending to have Juliet wake up before Romeo's suicide and the two share a few moments before they die. That is clearly not the case here since Romeo's lifeless body is draped over the newly awakened Juliet's lap.
Beneath this drawing, to the right, is a slight sketch of a standing adult with a child. This could possibly be another study for The Warren Family (see note on 5). The drawing upside down at top right depicts the same woman seen resting her hand atop an urn in 7. On this page, the second woman, rather than holding a staff, as in 7, sits on a higher level behind the first figure. A landscape background is suggested in the densely shaded background. A second study of these two women, also upside down, appears at the middle of the page. For other similar drawings see 43, 45, and 51.
Page 22At bottom right are three studies of a seated man gazing at a woman who looks at her own image in a mirror. The subject can be identified as Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden, from Tasso's, Gerusalemme Liberata. Tasso's epic poem, first published in 1581, is a fanciful tale about the First Crusade, which centers on the conflict between love and duty. Rinaldo, a Christian prince aiding the Saracens in defending Jerusalem, seeks out the sorceress Armida to convince her to reverse the spell she has put on several of his companions, which has turned them into monsters. In Armida's enchanted garden, the two fall in love:
Dependent from his side (unusual sight!)
Appear'd a polish'd mirror, beamy bright:
This in his hand th' enamour'd champion rais'd;
On this, with smiles, the fair Armida gaz'd.
She in the glass her form reflected ‘spies:
And he consults the mirror of her eyes.
(Canto XVI, 145-150; trans. Hoole, 1763)
Titian was clearly of help to Romney in depicting Armida’s body, as one can see in comparing these drawings to the artist's copy of Venus and Adonis (see 16). A similar nude has been employed in a drawing of The Toilet of Venus upside down at the top of this page. The image of Venus looking in a mirror held by her maidservant has been awkwardly combined with two figures rummaging through a cassone at the right. These figures are reminiscent of figures in the right background of another of Titian's paintings, Venus of Urbino, which Romney could have known through an engraving. In this manner did Romney perfect his method, studying the works of the Old Masters and then redeploying motifs in subjects of his own. Romney may have been drawn to the theme of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida's enchanted Garden through his familiarity with Domenichino's painting on the subject, a work acquired by Louis XIV in 1685 and in the French Royal Collections when Romney visited Paris in 1764. Romney also studied the subject in Royal Academy Sketchbook No. 2.
A drawing in the center of the page depicts a female nude standing on rocks and leaning against a post. This vaguely resembles Andromeda, as seen in many drawings later in the sketchbook. (See 50, 51, and 53-63.) A figure to the right may represent Andromeda in reverse. There are additional scribbles on the page, one of which suggests a profile.
Page 23All drawings here are in landscape orientation, which is seldom the case in this sketchbook, in which it occurs only 23 times. On this page, Romney deals with both of the subjects that interested him from Gerusalemme Liberata, Tasso's epic poem. Two drawings depict Rinaldo abandoning Armina and two others depict Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden. (For additional information on these subjects, see 6 and 22.)
Two additional drawings appear here which are unrelated to the Rinaldo and Armida story. The one at the bottom of the page depicts a woman and a foreshortened, reclining infant. The other, depicting two striding females, is of more interest. It is very likely a study for Romney's portrait of Two Sisters, half-length, which he exhibited in 1767 at the Free Society of Artists, and which is now untraced. In 1770, Robert Dunkarton exhibited at the Society of Artists the proof of a mezzotint after Romney, undoubtedly the portrait in question, under the title Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. This particular drawing, though full length, evokes the figures in the Dunkarton print. The Kendal Sketchbook has a large number of drawings of two striding females analogous to these, which are presumably related to this painting. These occur on the following pages: 39, 40, 43, 52, 63, 73, 75, 77, 88, 91, 100, 102, and (possibly) 103. The example on page 43 has one of the figures pointing towards a sculpted pedestal topped by an urn, most likely a grave marker, which would obviously underscore the theme of mortality. Most of the drawings in the series depict the figures at full-length, rather than half-length as in the completed painting.
Page 24The drawings on this page are upside down. The densely shaded thumbnail drawing can be tied with confidence to a completed portrait, Elizabeth, Lady Blunt, c. 1764. In the painting, the setting is out of doors, with a landscape opening in the distance. Here, the setting is an interior. Drapery and an elaborate pull cord frame the figure. The sitter’s right elbow rests atop a classical bust, as it does in the completed painting. Her pose closely approximates to that of the painting, although here the index finger of her left hand is not pointed downward, and her costume lacks the sash, which features prominently in the painting. Despite the small size of this drawing, the artist has nonetheless managed to suggest Lady Blunt's hairstyle and individual features. The variegated shading is closely attended to here, giving the effect of light streaming in through a window to the left, illuminating the upper part of the sitter's body; however, the handling of light striking the plinth seems arbitrary. This drawing differs strongly from the more ephemeral additional sketches on the page. (For another possible study for Lady Blunt see 100).
A faint sketch of a standing woman at top right, while it echoes to an extent Lady Blunt’s pose, forms a transition between the portrait of Lady Blunt and a subject composition appearing in 25, in which a similar figure appears. A second drawing of a standing female, in a different pose, is at bottom right. Finally, the slight sketch above the Blunt study might be related to Rinaldo abandoning Armida (see note on 6) though it is faint and difficult to read.
Page 25Drawings are upside down on this page. A new composition appears here. A standing female points her right arm towards a seated male. Two additional figures appear at the right. Three additional studies of the woman appear above. One of these, which is very faint, was drawn over by the artist as he made the composition study. The subject is presumably The Accusation of Susannah, a subject Romney also dealt with in a number of drawings in Courtauld Sketchbook No. 1. A seated man appears to the left in one of the Courtauld drawings though not in an identical pose to that here. In the Courtauld drawing, the emphatic curve and loose, approximating line used to depict Susannah contrasts with the more factual, darkly shaded method used here. In part, this is a product of the different media used: ink versus graphite. However, at the end of the 1760's Romney was developing a looser, freer style of drawing than had prevailed previously in his work. (See 24, 31, 92, and 99 for related drawings.)
Page 26This page contains only scribbles.
Page 27This entire page is given over to copies Romney made from various sources, remarkable in their range and variety. The blank eyes, straight nose and full lips of the face at top left earmark it as a copy of a classical head. Harshly illuminated from the lower right, the head is carefully presented with strong chiaroscuro.
Strong chiaroscuro effects were to become a hallmark of Romney’s late work. His son John comments on his propensity to use different sources of strong light in his dark studio to light the classical casts he acquired late in life. (Such methods were often employed in cast galleries to sharpen definition.) This head may well have been copied from a cast in the Duke of Richmond's sculpture gallery, perhaps from one of the ‘busts from unknown source’, among these a Juno, most likely a cast of the so-called Ludovisi Juno, in fact a representation of Antonia Minor, niece of Augustus. Alternatively, Romney could possibly have been working from a cast at the St. Martin's Lane Academy, which also had a few classical casts (see Ilaria Bignamini and Martin Postle, The Artist's Model: Its Role in British Art from Lely to Etty, exhibition catalogue, 1991 University Art Gallery, Nottingham, The Iveagh Bequest, Kenwood, 1991, cat. 4.)
The portrait roughly inscribed within an oval conveys the manner and staging of an Old Master. However, fitting this particular drawing into the history of portraiture is difficult: the clean shaven youth with drapery flung over his shoulder and possibly wearing a mazzocchio-type headdress suggests the Renaissance, yet the image does not fit easily into a Renaissance milieu as its oval format was rare in the Renaissance, when the tondo, i.e. round, shape was preferred. (Dosso Dossi did paint a number of oval portraits in Ferrara in the early 16th century, but this is anomalous). Full size oval portraits were not unknown in the 17th century and the oval became increasingly used for portrait miniatures though Romney seems unlikely to have been copying from a miniature. The figure's right hand rests on his upper breast. Although two studies of hands are found on this page, they do not mirror the hand in the portrait drawing. In their graceful expressiveness, the hands are reminiscent of the hand study in 1. Conceivably life studies, they could also have been copied from prints or even casts. The landscape study, with its looming foreground rocks, confusing middle ground features, distant mountain, and dark sky with strange cloud forms, does not suggest an actual landscape. Perhaps adapted from a print, it is a strange drawing indeed.
Page 28Four drawings on this page depict a man supporting a slumping woman. (In two of these she appears to be offering some resistance.) Three of the drawings suggest that the man wears a helmet, as will be made explicit in other drawings of this pair later in the sketchbook. Related drawings include 32, 38, 39, 40, 53, and 78. The subject is probably The Rape of Lucretia. Lucretia, the legendary Roman matron who committed suicide after her rape by Tarquin, son of the King of Rome, was the epitome of ‘Pudicitia’, i.e. modesty and sexual virtue. She provided a proper model for artists in an age in which chastity and fidelity were much prized as feminine virtues ensuring that only rightful heirs would inherit property in a landed economy. Richardson's novel Clarissa (1748) offered a Lucretia-like model in a young woman who, though she does not directly commit suicide after her rape by the villain Lovelace, pines away until she dies of guilt and remorse. Correspondingly, in the visual arts, norms of 18th-century portraiture provided ways of demonstrating feminine virtue and the position of women within a family, just as subject pictures could put forward models like Lucretia.
We know Romney was interested in the Lucretia theme from notations in his hand in Yale Sketchbook No. 7, in which he lists various ideas for subject pictures, among them ‘Lucrecia’. That sketchbook dates from the artist's stay in Italy, 1773-5, but it is clear that he had already dealt with the subject earlier, as is shown here. There are numerous related drawings in Truro Sketchbook No. 1 and Barrow Sketchbook No. 1. There is also one drawing on the subject in Louvre Sketchbook No. 2 (45). A very faint sketch between two of the Lucretia drawings may also depict this subject or, possibly, figures from the composition of Rinaldo abandoning Armida (see note on 6). Two additional drawings depict a seated woman. In the more detailed of these she wears a mob cap. A tiny sketch of a face appears above this figure’s head.
Page 29At top right is a landscape view of a three-arched bridge spanning a river. Through one of the arches one sees cattle and a two-mast boat with sails down. A building appears in the middle distance and hills rise up beyond. Faintly visible angled shapes in the foreground, left, suggest that the scene is observed from a height. Romney would have been able to observe such a view as this during his return visits to the north in 1765 or 1767. There are several three-arched stone bridges in Cumbria that could have provided a vista similar to this. Though added to or rebuilt since Romney's time, these include the Devil's bridge in Kirkby Lonsdale and the Nether and Miller bridges in Kendal. (Built in stone in 1743, the Miller Bridge was rebuilt in 1818.) Whether a craft the size of the one in the drawing could have navigated the local rivers, though, is questionable. Perhaps the boat is shown out of scale; otherwise, Romney could have been using a print as his source. However, since the scene appears on the same page as studies for a portrait painted during the artist's 1767 trip to the north, it does suggest that it might reflect an actual site. Romney's son John wrote of his father’s deep responsiveness to the beauty of his native Cumbria, with its ‘winding vales, and swelling eminences’. For information on Kendal in Romney's time, see John Satchell, ‘Romney's Kendal’ Transactions of the Romney Society vol. 4 (1999) pp. 18-28.
At the center of the page and below are four portrait studies of a woman and a child sitting (in one case standing) on a block-like support. These are most likely preliminary studies for Romney’s painting of Mrs. Edward Salisbury and Daughter, painted in Lancaster during the artist's trip to the north in 1767.
A sketch at the bottom left of the page may also be a portrait study. The woman descending a stairway bears a slight (probably coincidental) similarity to a figure descending stairs in 102. In this instance there is a faint suggestion of a second figure behind the woman. An oval shape in the crook of the figure's right arm is difficult to decipher. At the top left are two sketches of a seated nude and one of a standing woman.
Page 30At top left is a half-length portrait study of a woman placed in front of a curving wall topped by an urn. A flowing wrap with a wide edging opens to reveal the woman's dress. This drawing can be tied to Romney's portrait of Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle, c.1764. The figure’s left arm, which in the painting crosses her waist, is suggested here only by a gap in the shading of the cape. The wall topped by an urn as well as the landscape background appear in the completed painting. However, the hound, stroked by the sitter as it jumps at her side, a notable feature in the painting, is not in evidence here.
The sitter’s right hand does reach out, nonetheless, towards an unidentifiable object. (For other possible studies for this painting see 3 and 12 [bottom of page, upside down].)
Three drawings on the page are related to the kneeling woman seen first in 8, and are probably related to Romney's 1765 painting A lady’s head, in the character of a saint, three quarters. (See also 10 and 30.) In one of the drawings here, the figure sits rather than kneels. Two additional, possibly unrelated, drawings of seated women are at bottom left. At bottom right is a portrait study of a woman standing beside a child seated on a plinth. This echoes the drawings in 29. The awkward shading on the woman's drapery makes her right leg appear bare.
The four sketches (upside down at top right) of a man in vest, coat and breeches adopt a half-length pose loosely similar to that of Abraham Rawlinson, most likely painted in 1767. The figure’s air of casual aplomb suits a man of affairs. A faint unrelated sketch of a standing figure is next to these drawings.
Page 31A faint, undecipherable sketch is upside down at the top of the page. The other drawings on the page, also upside down, are related to one another. At mid-page, Romney has made a meticulous study from a model, producing an unusually detailed image. With a delicate line, he delineates the woman's long thin nose with its slight bump and her slightly opened mouth. Her complicated hairdo bound by a ribbon has been closely studied though the contemporary dress she wears is but lightly indicated. That this image haunted the artist is clear from its reappearance, in muted form, in later drawings (see 69 and 95). This figure’s pose and demeanor are echoed in the woman being closely contemplated by two men standing behind her. A lightly sketched figure is sprawled out in front of the standing woman, awkwardly fused with the other figures. (This figure is also seen in three, more distinct, studies at the left). That this man is meant to be included in the composition is made clear by comparison with the composition study in 25.
A woman with meekly lowered head accompanied by two old men naturally brings to mind The Accusation of Susannah, a story from the Apocrypha, in which a falsely accused, virtuous woman is delivered from her persecutors, thus demonstrating how the pure soul will be protected from peril. Various artists besides Romney were attracted to The Accusation of Susannah, among them Benjamin West, who chose it as the subject of one of his first history paintings. While the genesis of Romney's interest in The Accusation of Susannah would appear to be in the Kendal sketchbook, he was to pursue the subject in many drawings and at least one painting before and after his trip to Italy. As John Romney wrote: ‘The first time I saw Mr. Romney after his return from Italy, was in January, 1777, when I found him painting in the evening by lamplight. He was then engaged upon the subject of The Accusation of Susannah by the two Elders… This picture was never finished, owing probably to the difficulty and disagreeableness of painting by an artificial light. The figures were upon a small scale and numerous.’ Among the sketchbooks with drawings related to the subject are: Baroda No. 3; British Museum No. 1; Courtauld No 1; Royal Academy No 1; as well as the Holborn Library and Victoria & Albert Museum sketchbooks. There are also drawings in the Fitzwilliam, Princeton, and Yale collections. For related drawings in the Kendal Sketchbook, see 25, 92, and 99.
Page 32
At top right, upside down, is a male supporting a slumping woman (see note on 28). At bottom right, also upside down, is a running woman with flowing draperies. This figure may be related to the dancing figure at mid-page. (Dancing figures with cymbals can also be found in Abbot Hall Sketchbook No. 1.) A half-length of a woman, also at mid-page, calls to mind studies for A Lady’s head, in the character of a saint (see 8, 10, and 30). However, the woman's breasts may be too prominently emphasized to allow this drawing to be grouped with the others.
Page 33In landscape orientation are four studies of a nude male, his hands apparently bound behind him. This straining figure’s pose recalls that of Michelangelo’s Bound Slave, now in the Louvre. If that is the source of the motif, Romney would necessarily have studied the sculpture from a print since, at the time of Romney's visit to Paris with Thomas Greene in 1764, the Bound Slave was in Cardinal de Richelieu's chateau in Poitou. The fact that the drawing shows the figure in reverse further corroborates a print source. An unrelated drawing at upper right depicts a running female wearing a headdress, right hand outstretched and left hand grasping her skirt. This image might also reflect the influence of a print source.
Page 34The central image on this page depicts Romney’s composition for Rinaldo abandoning Armida, a subject first introduced in 6. In this version, a muscular boatman is shown from the back, along with other figures in the boat at the left. A second slight sketch of the central figure from this composition appears above.
Additional drawings appear upside down on the page. The most detailed of these depicts a striding female holding arrows in her right hand (see related figures in 64 and 35.) Here the female is accompanied by several additional figures. A second faint drawing on this subject appears at the top of the page. The goddess Diana has a bow and arrows as attributes. It is conceivable Romney might have considered staging a portrait with the sitter in the guise of Diana, much as Reynolds would do in his Duchess of Manchester Disarming Cupid, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1769.
The faint sketch of a seated figure at top left may be compared with a figure in a similar pose in three studies (in reverse) in 31. The final drawing on the page, a very faint sketch of a seated woman is upside down at top right.
Page 35A striding female at lower right (upside down) holds an object in her right hand – perhaps sticks or arrows as held by the female in 34. Two faint sketches at the top of this page introduce a new subject. They depict a standing, crowned king, who is seen more clearly in a composition drawing on the following page (36). Most of the remaining drawings on this page also appear to relate to that composition, with two exceptions, both upside down at the left. At mid-page is a very faint sketch of a female nude. The other drawing, which is cut off at the left margin, shows a figure from the back, perhaps accompanied by a dog, and part of another figure. The drawing appears to be related to a composition drawing in 12.
Page 36Figure studies seen in 35 come into better focus here as a full composition for a subject painting. Within an expansive interior, a crowned king stands astride two stairs. A seated woman, presumably the queen, sits to the left of the king. Many courtiers are also present, including two figures kneeling at the feet of the king and an infant clutching the king's leg. At first glance, it would be tempting to interpret this as The Judgment of Solomon. However, one of the figures kneeling before the king appears to be male (see also 37). Thus, an alternate interpretation presents itself: that it shows an episode in the Perseus and Andromeda legend, a mythological subject that Romney focuses on in many drawings in this album (see note on 50 and related drawings.) This particular composition may depict the confrontation of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia with Phineus, who had been Andromeda's betrothed before Perseus arrived to rescue and subsequently marry her. Two figure studies for this composition appear below the larger drawing. If this interpretation is correct, it would represent the second instance in this sketchbook where Romney illustrates two episodes from the same story (as he did with Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata). At the bottom of the page are two portrait studies of a seated woman with two children. These are closely related to drawings in 7.
Page 37At top, portions of the composition in 36 are studied. The powerful anatomy of the kneeling male is notable. At the center of the page, two faint sketches of a standing figure, right leg bent, may or may not relate to this composition. Below is a faint drawing of a half-draped female seen from behind, with indications of a second figure to the right and possibly putti to the left (though these are very difficult to decipher). Too vague to be confidently identified, this could possibly be related either to Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s Enchanted Garden or The Toilet of Venus.
Page 38All the drawings are upside down on the page. The large figure within a landscape setting relates to three studies in 19, possibly an interpretation by Romney of Terpsichore by Le Sueur. The figure's unusual striped gown has a wide square neck. The chiaroscuro rendering of the drapery covering the lower half of the woman's body highlights the right knee and left thigh. However, the proportions of this figure are elongated and the knee is far too low on the body. The method of developing the drapery shapes at the right side of the drawing is curiously abstract and incremental, meaning the drapery folds are not combined convincingly. Vegetation is studied in some detail at lower right. This drawing can be compared with similar drawings in Abbot Hall Sketchbook No. l.
A drawing of a woman in a flowing headdress holding a staff in her left hand appears upside down at the top of the page. A seascape opens up behind, within which one can make out a tiny ship with billowing sails and a spiraling plume of smoke rising in the far distance. Other forms in the background are difficult to read though architectural forms appear to line the shore. On page 43, this same figure appears again, along with a seated female resting her arm on an urn. In that instance, the drawing suggests a portrait study, one related to Two Sisters contemplating on Mortality. This seems to be a case where a portrait study elides into an idea for a subject painting.
Three additional drawings are at the top of the page. Two depict standing women; one of these, with flowing drapery, is probably a dancer. The third drawing shows standing man supporting a slumping woman, a subject introduced in 28, though here reversed (see other examples in 32, 39, 40, 53, and 78).
Page 39All the drawings on this page are upside down. Three drawings (one very faint) depict a man supporting a slumping woman, as in 28, 32, 38, 40, 53, and 78. In one of the drawings, the male’s plumed helmet marks him definitively as a Roman. At the center of the page are two small studies of faces. One suggests a male, most likely the helmeted male just mentioned. (It is remarkable how adeptly the helmeted man's tiny face conveys these same features.) The other facial study, curiously, presents a slighter version of the woman shown with such clarity and detail at the center of the page in 31. The sequencing of these two female images is tantalizing; were both drawn from life at the same time? Why do they appear eight pages apart?
Eight additional drawings, varying in clarity, depict seated and standing figures. Three of these drawings, showing two women standing together, may be related to Romney’s painting of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. These can be compared to figures in 43. There, one of the women points at a sculpted relief, a clear connection to the theme of mortality. Two of the eight drawings depict a woman with an upraised left arm. This figure can be compared with one in a drawing in 7.
Page 40At the top of the page, upside-down, is a portrait study of two seated females in a landscape. One holds a stringed instrument, possibly a citern or mandolin. One of the figures appears to have an open book in her lap, perhaps a musical score. However, the resolution of the two figures is confusing, making it difficult to tell whose body is whose. A different treatment of this subject can be seen in 64. Though two females are represented, it would be difficult to see this grouping as a variant composition for Romney’s Two Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. The portrait's theme may instead be the Arts.
Below this portrait study is a man's face, turned offprofile and viewed slightly from above. This same face, in less detailed form, first appeared at the center of 39, upside down. As there, this is presumably the face of the man in a plumed helmet supporting a slumping woman, a study for which appears below this face. Opposite these two drawings, in landscape orientation, are dancing figures. This group is somewhat similar to dancers at the left in 41. See additional dancers in 17, 44, 72, and 76. A sketch of two women, upside down at bottom left echoes one of the pairs in 39. Next to this pair is a slight sketch of a woman who appears to be collapsing. Though reminiscent of a similar figure in 15, there is nevertheless no compelling reason to connect this image with that one.
Page 41A group of dancing figures occupies much of this page. One figure holds a triangle and another a tambourine. The graphite images are touched up in places with ink. These figures are most likely related to Romney's painting of Mirth, on which he was engaged in 1769. In that painting, the figure of Mirth holds a tambourine while a figure in the background holds aloft a triangle. The dancer at the right impinges upon a separate drawing, which depicts a standing figure with widespread legs. Another standing figure unrelated to the dancers is seen to the right. For other drawings with dancers see 17, 40, 44, 72, and 76.
Page 42Four drawings of a seated female nude (in two instances shown with another figure and with suggestions of a mirror) relate to the subject of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see note on 22). In one of the drawings putti are included. At bottom right is a seated, partially nude female with upraised arms. Two additional drawings, one very faint, depict this same figure. A standing figure is superimposed over the faintest of these drawings.
The striding female upside down at top right is similar to a figure appearing in composition studies in 38 and 43, though in these instances no staff is visible in her left hand. (See also related figures in 34 and 35.)
To the left of the striding female, also upside down, are five sketches, some very slight, of a seated woman. In the most readable of these, the woman's left arm appears to rest on an urn, as does that of a similar figure in the composition in 43 in which the striding woman appears. For other drawings in which a woman rests her arm on an urn see 7, 21, 45, 51, and 98.
Page 43The drawing upside down at top left shows two females standing before a pedestal topped with an urn, presumably a grave monument. One of the two figures points her left arm towards a raised relief on the front of the monument (see two figures in similar poses in a drawing in 39). This is presumably a preliminary trial for Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 23.) The drawing next to this likewise depicts two females, one of them with her left hand atop an urn, an obvious symbol of mortality. Therefore, this would also seem to be an idea for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality even though the second figure holds a staff, not an attribute commonly associated with the mortality theme. For other drawings in which this seated woman with an urn appears, see 7, 21, 4 5, and 51. Drawings that show the second figure holding a staff include 7, 47, 51, and 52.
A drawing upside down at the bottom of the page shows a female holding a large book. If this is meant to refer to The Book of Life, in which the names of those who will live forever are recorded, it provides another appropriate prop for a painting on the theme of mortality. For analogous drawings of a female holding a large book see 80 and 81. A large drawing of a seated woman appears in landscape orientation at the center of the page. The final drawing on the page depicts a standing female in a landscape, probably a portrait study.
Page 44Drawings of dancers, some with musical instruments, fill this page. Some images are upside down; others are in landscape orientation. As in 40, a tambourine is held aloft by some of the dancers, suggesting a connection to Romney’s painting of Mirth, on which the artist was engaged in 1769. For other groups of dancers see 17, 40, 41, 72, and 76.
Page 45At the top of the sheet, upside-down, is a drawing in a slightly flattened oval format; a woman and an infant recline at the left; to the right, an awkwardly posed figure, looking back towards the reclining woman, rushes away. Rays from the sun fan out into the sky in the middle distance. A semi-nude in flowing drapery flies through the air. Above this figure, faint lines suggest additional figures and/or clouds. This may represent Eos, i.e. Aurora, rosy-fingered goddess of the dawn who rose each morning from the river Oceanus to separate Night from Day. The inspiration is presumably an allegorical painting, perhaps one the artist saw on his trip to Paris in 1764. The unusual format suggests this may be a copy or a recollection of a painting used for wall or ceiling decoration.
A detailed, densely-shaded portrait study of two seated females, one resting her arms on an oval-shaped urn, appears on the lower half of the page. This drawing is the most finished of a group of related drawings (see also 7, 21, 43, and 51). As the urn has an obvious reference to mortality, this presumably represents an alternate staging for Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality.
An additional slight half-length sketch of a standing woman is to the left.
Page 46At right center are studies of seated females. The two at the left suggest the poses of the two sisters in 45. Upsidedown, below these figures, is a drawing of a woman in a chariot, amidst clouds above and below. The composition conforms to an oval shape, similar to that of the drawing on the previous page. If these share an allegorical theme, this could be Aurora, goddess of the dawn, this time depicted in her chariot, which was a favorite subject of Baroque artists. Romney was drawn to the work of Baroque artists of the 17th century, as recorded in the journal Thomas Greene kept of his and Romney's journey to Paris in 1764.
Page 47The composition marked out at the bottom of the page depicts two seated females. In the relaxed ease of its poses and plethora of rustling silks, it signals an attempt at portraiture in the Grand Manner. Reinforcing its seriousness of purpose is the imposing urn-topped structure, presumably a grave monument, towards which the sitters gaze. The direct allusion to mortality brings the conclusion that this is one of a number of ideas Romney tried out while working on Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. A different version of this idea, where the figures also contemplate a grave monument, can be seen in 43. For a detailed drawing with figures in analogous poses accompanied by symbols of mortality, see 45.
Above this, a less detailed drawing depicts two women in somewhat similar poses. Here, however, one of the figures holds a staff in an upraised arm. (The arm is shown in alternate renderings.) The same figure is seen in a second drawing, now placed to the right of the second figure. Here, the staff suggests a distaff. (Curiously, a distaff-holding figure will elide into a composition on an entirely different subject in 48). For related drawings, in which one of the figures holds a staff, see 7, 43, 51, and 52. The slight figure study of a seated female is probably related to these drawings.
Upside down on the page is a drawing of two seated figures, one apparently holding a mirror. This connects the image to depictions of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see note on 22). The two infants nearby also probably relate to this composition.
Page 48A sketch at the bottom left recalls a similar couple in 47, a depiction of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden. Here, however, the mirror is only faintly suggested. A study of a reclining female nude is adjacent to this drawing. Above these drawings, upside down on the page, are two additional depictions of a male and female, now given entirely different attributes and identities. It was common for Romney to reuse and alter figural arrangements as he moved amongst a variety of subjects in his sketchbooks. That is evident on this page. In the composition demarcated by lines, a shepherd plays his syrinx; his flock of sheep is suggested to the left. His female companion, lightly clad, holds a distaff, yam, and spindle. Such bucolic scenes were popular in the 18th century, particularly amongst French artists such as Boucher. Many such scenes derive ultimately from Daphnis and Chloe, a romance by the Greek writer Longus, assumed to have lived in the 2nd century A.D. The sunburst on the horizon in this drawing echoes a similar motif in an oval drawing in 45. Perhaps both drawings were inspired by a cycle of paintings Romney saw in Paris in 1764.
In John Romney’s list of his father's ‘Pictorial Designs and Studies’, which John Romney gave to Cambridge University in 1817, three of the designs, as he wrote in his memoir of his father, ‘are taken from the pastoral romance of Longus. It was the intention of Mr. Romney to have painted two pictures of the size of life, of which these were the studies.’ There are sketches on the subject in Truro Sketchbook No. 1 (8, 9) and RA Sketchbook No. 2 (4, 4v, 5, 5v, 6v, 7, 8, 8v, 9, 34v, and possibly additional ones). Interestingly, in the RA sketchbook, the drawings of Daphnis and Chloe are immediately followed by drawings of Rinaldo and Armida. This shows the same fusion of subject matter that takes place here. For another treatment of this subject, see 49. A faint sketch of a woman's torso appears upside down at center right.
Page 49At the bottom left is a drawing related to Rinaldo and Armida in Armida's Enchanted Garden. In the upper part of the page, upside down, are two studies of figures from the pastoral composition in 48. The remaining drawings on this sheet are studies of figures in a variety of poses. The lumpish figures at mid-page contrast strongly with the slender figures below.
Page 50Five drawings on this page are related to the subject of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida's enchanted Garden (see note on 22).
The composition drawing at center left represents Perseus Freeing Andromeda, a subject that Romney pursued in a large number of drawings in this sketchbook. A drawing of a nude female in 22 may be the first drawing on the theme; the rest are clustered together on this page and pages following (see 51-63). It is unusual in this sketchbook to find drawings on the same subject so closely concentrated. The basic composition depicts a bound nude woman being rescued by a man in classical apparel. In some drawings, as here, additional figures appear. These are presumably Cepheus, Andromeda’s grateful father, and an attendant. Cepheus, in Greek legend, was king of Ethiopia. His queen, Cassiopeia, had boasted that her beauty was equal to that of the Nereids. This drew a swift response from Poseidon, who flooded the land and let loose a sea serpent, which ravaged the kingdom. The oracle of Zeus proclaimed that no relief could be hoped for until the king exposed his daughter to the sea monster. Thus Andromeda was fastened to a rock on the shore. When Perseus appeared, he slew the monster and subsequently married Andromeda although she had previously been betrothed to her uncle Phineas. (For drawings that may relate to another phase of the Perseus and Andromeda legend, see 35, 36, and 37.)
Page 51At the top of the page is a study for Perseus Freeing Andromeda (see 50). Here, Perseus as well as the background to the right have been filled in and shaded. At bottom left is a figure study of Perseus and Andromeda. At mid-page is a reclining female, which echoes those in 50. At top left is a sketch too faint to decipher.
At bottom right is a portrait study of two females in a landscape setting. The right arm of the seated woman rests atop an oval urn, a symbol of mortality; the standing figure holds a staff. Compare this to drawings in 7, 21, 43, 45, 47, 51, 52, and 104. Romney is either experimenting here with a variant composition for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality or exploring a concept for a different double portrait.
Page 52Two drawings of a pair of women at the center of the page are probably related to Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 23). The figures stand side by side as in the painting, although here they are shown fulllength. Below these drawings is a composition marked off on the page showing figures in a landscape setting. One figure sits; the second stands, holding a staff. (A figure in a similar pose, also holding a staff, appears in 38.) A very faint, indeed scarcely visible, sketch of the same composition appears at upper left. This is echoed in an equally slight drawing upside down at top right in 89.
A faint drawing at top right depicts a seated nude, possibly Andromeda (see similar drawings in 54). The final drawing on the page shows a seated man, perhaps holding a staff, accompanied by a kneeling woman.
Page 53Two drawings at the bottom of the page and one at the top depict Perseus Freeing Andromeda. Here, Andromeda is seated, thrusting backwards, rather than standing as she is in 50 and 51. Perseus rests his right knee on a rock. A faint sketch just below the middle of the page also depicts Andromeda. At mid-page right is a drawing of a man struggling with a woman, which harks back to figure studies in 28, 32, 38, 39 and 40, as well as 78. With magnification, the scramble of lines to the right of the pair can be seen to represent horsemen brandishing shields, i.e. a battle scene. This subject probably relates to Tarquin and Lucretia, a subject from Roman history. Unlike other of Romney’s drawings of this pair in the sketchbook, this particular one depicts Lucretia as very much alive and struggling with her attacker. Her fist is clenched, and a faint line may suggest her dagger. (Subsequent to her rape by Tarquin, Lucretia committed suicide by stabbing herself.) Barrow Sketchbook No. 1 has similar drawings of a woman struggling with a man, in which the dagger is visible (63, 69, 77) as well as drawings which show her slumping in his arms (66,73,79).
This page includes five detailed facial studies. The topmost one shows a thoughtful woman in near profile, her chin and the lower part of her face darkly shaded. This drawing appears unrelated to other drawings on the page. Behind this drawing, another profile has been scratched out. Below is a closely observed face of a woman with upturned eyes and slightly open mouth. This mouth is studied in two additional drawings. It is quite possible these three drawings are studies for Andromeda.
Page 54This page has eight studies of Andromeda in a seated pose, as in 53. In one of the drawings, the figure of Perseus is shown.
Page 55All the drawings on this page depict Perseus Freeing Andromeda. At the bottom of the page, within a rectangle marked off by lines, the subject is shown in some detail. Andromeda is seated on rocks, her bound arms raised above her head. In contrast to similar studies in 53 as well as here, Perseus appears to the left of Andromeda. All parts of the composition study are filled with shading to indicate rocks, sea, mountains, and sky. One of the drawings contains an alternate study for Perseus and shows Andromeda standing rather than sitting.
Page 56Five studies of the nude Andromeda appear at the bottom. At the top are two of Andromeda with Perseus. In one, Perseus is at the right of Andromeda; in the other he is on the left. The artist is actively experimenting with elements of his composition.
Page 57 A detailed drawing on the lower half of this page explores the composition of Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The composition is reversed from its initial configuration in 50 and 51. Here, Perseus is at the left; the bearded, crowned King and a kneeling figure are shown to the right. Andromeda is shown in a pose intermediate. between sitting and standing. This is the most detailed composition for the subject seen thus far in the sketchbook. However, there is a discordant element in that Andromeda's head is unnaturally small in relation to her arms.
A less detailed version of the subject is at the top. Three additional figures are indicated to the right. Two slight studies of Andromeda appear above mid-page, both of them infringed upon by adjacent drawings. The final drawing, upside-down on the page, is unrelated to Perseus and Andromeda. It depicts a young woman sporting an unusual hairdo, which is piled high at the sides and parted in the center.
Page 58Two drawings for Perseus Freeing Andromeda echo the compositional scheme in 57, though here Andromeda's right leg supports her weight. In the study at the top of the page, upside down, the king and the kneeling figure have been joined by additional figures. Two additional sketches of Andromeda appear on the page.
Page 59Three drawings, upside down on the page, plus a very faint additional sketch of Andromeda, relate to Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The composition includes a kneeling figure to the right; plus, in one case, additional figures. In the drawing at the bottom of the page, the figure of the king is cut off at the margin. In two of the drawings, Andromeda’s right arm is upraised, still bound, while her left one is held by the kneeling figure. This differs from a number of earlier drawings in the series, which show her with both arms bound. In these drawings, as in 58, Andromeda stands erect. In the drawing topmost on the page, viewed right side up, a form to the left of Perseus may give a faint suggestion of the vanquished dragon, with its lolling tongue, staring eye, and arching brow.
Page 60Three drawings, upside-down, are all studies for Perseus Freeing Andromeda. In one of these, figures to the right of the couple can be discerned (compare with 57).
Page 61All five drawings on this page, only two of them right side up, are related to the subject of Perseus Freeing Andromeda. In two of the drawings, Andromeda is unnaturally small in relation to Perseus. One very faint sketch depicts the kneeling figure seen in earlier drawings of the composition (see 57). Another very faint sketch at bottom left shows the outspread arms of the king and gives a suggestion of his body.
Page 62This page has eight sketches, of varying clarity, relating to the subject of Perseus Freeing Andromeda (see note on 50). The drawing upside down at top right is unusual in that, for the first time, Andromeda is drawn from the back. Three additional figure studies, two of them adopting this same pose, are nearby. At mid-page are two sketches of the kneeling figure, seen more clearly in 57, as well as very slight sketches of the king and, possibly, Andromeda.
While Romney continues to explore the Perseus and Andromeda theme here, his concentration on this subject is beginning to waver. For example, a drawing at mid-page right is a portrait study of two seated females (compare with 47). The subject matter of three other drawings at the bottom of the page is elusive. One is too faint to decipher; a second shows a seated couple; a third depicts a standing woman, possibly holding a tambourine. This last could be a preliminary study for Mirth, a painting Romney was working on in 1769. It fits in generically with other drawings of dancers in the sketchbook (see, for example, 44).
Page 63
The nine drawings on this page mix together ideas for subject pictures and portrait studies, as was common with Romney. At lower left is the final drawing in the sketchbook depicting Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The poses are similar to those first adopted in 53. Above this drawing is a study for Romney s Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, depicted here full-length. This drawing, with shading employed on costume and background, is more fully worked up than other similar drawings in the sketchbook (see 23, 73, 75, 77, 88, 100 and 102). At the top of the page, is a study for Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see note on 22). A second, less detailed, study for this subject as well as a partial figure study of Armida appear below midpage. Below mid-page at right is a highly anomalous but very interesting tiny sketch. It depicts the face, neck and shoulder of a man with tousled curls, whose most striking characteristic is a long, tapering moustache. His large eyes give him a piercing gaze. The moustache is one Nicholas Hilliard could have sported at the court of Elizabeth I, or that of a late 19th-century dandy, but it seems wholly out of context in the 18th century. How this singular image found its way into the sketchbook is curious, to say the least. It would be tempting to suspect the intervention of another hand but difficult to imagine how and when such could have occurred. Perhaps this is instead a fleeting image garnered from a print. Sketches of a striding figure, a seated couple, and a seated woman complete the drawings on the page.
Page 64The female playing a stringed instrument in a drawing at top left echoes a similar figure in 40. In both of these compositions, a second female is depicted with a large book, perhaps a musical score. In this instance the book is supported on a pedestal. Below this group is a standing woman in contrapposto holding what appears to be a bow (see a similar figure, combined with additional figures, in 34). To the right is another standing female whose ample breasts and bulging belly suggest pregnancy; however, this may simply result from an awkward rendering of the image.
Three drawings at the bottom depict a man seizing a woman and raising her off the ground. The profusion of rushing lines gives an energy and immediacy to the sketches. A violent scene of abduction, this brings to mind The Rape of the Sabine Women as sculpted by Giambologna and painted by Poussin and others, which Romney would no doubt have known through prints. At the same time, one of Poussin’s two versions of the Rape of the Sabine Women was in the Royal Collections in Paris, where Romney might have familiarized himself with the subject. In addition, the Duke of Richmond's cast gallery had figures and a relief relating to Giambologna's sculpture, which Romney would have seen. Four drawings upside down on the page are also related to this tumultuous subject, and additional related drawings can be seen in 65, 66, and 67. These struggling figures in violent action are very different in character from somewhat analogous drawings in the sketchbook showing a man supporting a slumping woman, e.g. 2 and others. Romney was fully capable of adapting similar poses to very different subjects in a continuous evolution of motifs.
Page 65Five drawings of figures in violent action suggest the Rape of the Sabine Women (see also 64, 66, and 67). The couple seen in three drawings at the bottom of 64 is now included within a larger group. The profusion of jumbled lines here, however, does not convey the figures as skillfully as the drawings in 64, which must have been done with a closer eye on the artist's source. Romney has had problems integrating the struggling couple into a larger group. Two additional sketches of seated figures on the page are unrelated to the Rape of the Sabine Women theme.
Page 66
In addition to two drawings of the Rape of the Sabine Women, this page has three studies of a carefully shaded female head (the largest drawn over the upper part of a male nude). These are presumably studies for the head of the woman being abducted in the drawing to the right. Though the woman's calm, resigned expression seems unsuited to expressing the agony of a potential rape victim, it conveys something of the stoic resolve of Poussin’s classical manner. Similar facial expressions on faces of the rape victims in Poussin’s Louvre version of the Rape of the Sabine Women may mark that painting (or a print of the same) as the source here. See additional drawings related to the Rape of the Sabine Women, in 64, 65, and 67. Elegantly calligraphic S-shaped curves are employed to strike out faint images at the right.
Page 67Two drawings with numerous figures as well as three additional figure studies are related to the Rape of the Sabine Women. As in drawings on this subject in 65 and 66, Romney has not been completely successful here in conveying the actions of the energetic couples originally presented in 64, where violent physical movements were so vividly portrayed.
Page 68Romney's concentration on violent scenes of abduction and rape comes to an abrupt stop here, with the artist providing a complete change of pace. A single large landscape drawing, presented sideways, fills this page. This landscape is simple in its elements: A dark sea laps against an indented shore. A large, sloping hill rises up at the right. From a dark sky filled with billowing clouds, slanted lines strike the hill, suggesting rain. This view was recently identified as Whitbarrow Scar from Levens village, Kendal. Though the artist's focus was seldom on landscapes as such, except as backgrounds for his portraits, Romney was highly sensitive to the grandeur of nature. His vivid description of the landscape he encountered on an excursion to the Isle of Wight demonstrates this: ‘The sudden appearance of the sea, and rocky scenery struck me more forcibly than anything of the kind, I had ever seen before’ (letter quoted in William Hayley’s life of Romney, p. 217).
Page 69Two drawings in opposite orientation to one another depict the same composition, showing three figures in a landscape; a figure to the left, resting its right arm on a pier (or a club?) and supporting its chin, looks towards two standing women to the right, one of whom points to the sky, where (in one of the drawings) a figure, or figures, appear amidst clouds. In the background of the second drawing, a group of dancing figures appears.
At the top of the page, upside down, a standing figure viewed from the back is probably also related to this composition. The subject is plausibly The Choice of Hercules. The pensive Hercules (though it is difficult to make out his club amidst the draperies) looks towards Virtue and Vice, each of whom tries to tempt him to follow her lead. Vice points towards the dancers and the enticements of worldly pleasure. Virtue, on the other hand, points towards the heavens, and the promised luster of lasting glory to be achieved through great deeds. This subject, which derives from Xenophon’s Memorabilia, was earlier depicted by Carracci, Poussin, and many others. Sir Joshua Reynolds employed the allegory in staging his humorous rendering of Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy, which was exhibited in 1762 at the Society of Artists and which Romney would surely have known. In this instance, the artist plays it straight, employing the subject in its usual allegorical guise rather than using it as a conceit for staging a portrait. Benjamin West did the same in his 1764 painting of The Choice of Hercules between Virtue and Pleasure (Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 40-1886).
A different subject is featured upside down at the top of the page in a drawing depicting a reclining couple in a landscape setting. It has some similarity to a composition in 46 and 48 though poses and attributes of the couple differ. Additional figures, perhaps putti, are at the right. (A line marking the left border of this composition crosses over another faint image of the seated woman.)
A final drawing on this page appears upside down at center left. Though minuscule, the face of this woman is surprisingly explicit. It is reminiscent of the larger and more detailed study of a female in 31 though here the nose is a straight line and the protruding upper lip is not in evidence, giving the figure a more classical impersonality. The modest contemporary dress of the figure in 31 has become soft drapery which clings to, when it doesn't directly expose, the woman's breasts. This small, incisive drawing is presumably intended as a study for the central figure in the composition next to it. As is often the case in Romney's drawings, certain images, e.g. that seen in 31, adumbrate later ones. Motifs and specific images are set down by the artist within new settings as his creativity courses through his sketchbooks. A remembered type, studied from a model that made a strong impression on the artist, appears again, separated by many pages from its first appearance (see also 95).
Page 70This page contains five graphite studies of women. One of the figures in the center is depicted descending stairs, the same staging seen, for example, in 72 and 102. The poses used in these figures at the center of the page create types that the artist used in such portraits as Mrs. Thomas Scott Jack son and Mrs. Henry Verelst. A sixth drawing, upside down at the bottom of the page uses red chalk as the medium. It depicts a seated woman whose bent leg rests on a block-like support.
Page 71Drawings appear on this page in a mixture of orientations. Beneath an unintelligible scribble at the top of the page are four drawings of reclining figures. One is female; the other three are male. The next drawings amidst this grab bag of images are two studies of elderly bearded men, one of whom appears to support a large book on his knee. This figure may possibly be related to a similar figure, in reverse, in the lunette in 78. The second male figure, set off within a rectangle, looks upward and supports his head with his left hand. Three dancers with billowing draperies come next. The central dancer is particularized by her dress, in a manner unusual in this sketchbook. Her Greek chiton suggests the influence of a classical or Quattrocento source. The final three drawings are of a kneeling figure and two standing nudes. One of them supports draperies with an upraised arm. One wonders if these could be sketches the artist set down as he pored over his collection of prints.
Page 72A large, but sketchy drawing of dancing figures appears upside down on the upper half of the page. These suggest the dancers in the bacchanalian relief seen in the background of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 73). The possibility that this drawing is related to that painting is strengthened by the appearance on this page of other sketches with a more obvious connection. Below, in a rectangular format, is a fulllength portrait study of two women, one descending stairs. Another study for these figures appears at bottom right; and see also drawings in 73, and 77. In this composition, one female faces the other and points a finger at her.
Page 73Drawings of two striding females, which began in 23, continue here and in the following: 74, 75, 77, 88, 89, 91, 100, 102 and 103. All may be connected to Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. Most of the drawings depict full-length figures instead of the half-length ones the artist opted for in the finished painting.
The other three drawings on the page should be compared with the composition drawing of two females in 72. This is a possible variant of the Two Sisters composition, one in which the two women face each other. Two of the sketches here suggest that a third figure is present; however, this is probably an alternate rendering of the figure to the left. Romney apparently experimented with a number of different compositional arrangements in staging his portrait of these two sisters.
Page 74The composition marked out within a rectangle can presumably be tied to drawings for Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden though the ungainly shape the male reaches towards does not much resemble a mirror and his face is not directed towards the female's. At the left side, this drawing impinges upon a sketch of a male standing with legs apart.
At the bottom of the page are two pairs of striding figures. In this case it is more of a stretch to connect them to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. It is doubtful that the half-draped figure in the center is connected to the other figures, but, in any case, the whole group of drawings presents a puzzle. A faint sketch of a seated woman in profile at bottom center is impinged upon by the drawing to its right.
Page 75The three figures towards the top of the page depict Rinaldo and his companions from Rinaldo abandoning Armida (see note on 6 and also 20 23, 34, 80, 81, 93, and possibly 24). Drawings on this subject are widely spaced in the sketchbook. Clearly, it was a topic that obsessed the artist and which he kept returning to. Besides Rinaldo and Armida, Romney may have dealt with other lovers featured in Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata. For example, a drawing from a later period apparently depicting Tancred and Erminia is in the Detroit Institute of Arts (see Jean Wallis, ‘The Mind and Soul of Romney's Art and the Poussin Connection’ Transactions of the Romney Society, Vol. 4, 1999). The drawing of two standing women suggests the poses of the women in 72. A slight drawing of a seated woman in profile is to the right. Compare this to a drawing at bottom center in 63.
Page 76Several sketches, some very faint, depict dancing figures with flowing draperies. As with 72, it is possible these are preparatory sketches for the bacchanalian relief in Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see other drawings of dancers in 17, 40, 41 and 44). Aimless, meandering scribbles appear above mid-page.
Page 77Three drawings of a pair of females here reflect the poses of the figures in the composition in 72, in which the figures stand on a stairway and the two figures face each other. As there, the woman to the left points her index finger at the second woman. In the two drawings at the bottom of the page, however, both women appear less confrontational as they progress together. Their poses have some similarity to those in Romney's painting of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality as seen in the Robert Dunkarton mezzotint (see 23). In the center of the page is a seated figure, leaning back, right arm extended.
Page 78Drawings appear upside down and sideways on the page. Two depict the helmeted man and slumping woman seen in many earlier drawings (see 28, 32, 38, 39, 40 and 53). In this instance, the woman's collapse is more pronounced as she bends straight back from the waist, insensate or perhaps even dead. Barrow Sketchbook No. 1 has numerous pen and ink drawings on this subject, and there are drawings also in Truro Sketchbook No. 1 (see specifically 22v).
Within a lunette at the left of the page, in landscape orientation, is an entirely new subject. Lightly sketched putti appear to the left. Next comes a seated figure wearing a gown and helmet. She supports a shield with her right hand and the staff of a flag with her left. That this figure is plausibly Athena is strengthened by the presence of a roundel on her bosom, presumably the roundel of Medusa, which is traditionally featured on the goddess’s aegis. Athena leans against a lightly sketched oval form that, although very faint, suggests a framed landscape. Behind this, a pedestal topped by a sculpture separates the Athena figure from a bulky, bearded male holding a large book or tablet. At this figure's knee, a putto, viewed from behind, stands cross-legged as he turns a globe resting on a square support. A second sketch of this putto appears above. This is an evolved allegorical composition, which Romney presumably copied from a source, perhaps one in Paris. Upside down at the top of the page is a group of four figures which may or may not belong together. The intended subject has not been identified.
Page 79Upside-down at the center of the page are two forceful drapery studies of the lower portion of a figure, suggesting Terpsichore (see note on 19. There is a faint suggestion of a triangle suspended from the figure's left hand; see also 16 and 38). The heavy hatching of the drapery is meant to model the figure but is unsystematic since the source of light is imperfectly indicated. A
drawing of a standing woman appears at the bottom of the page.
Page 80Upside down and covering the top half of this sheet is a composition depicting a reluctant male being urged towards a boat by two companions. He gazes behind him up in the body of a supine female with raised right leg. This depicts Rinaldo abandoning Armida. This subject is depicted in a number of drawings spread widely through the sketchbook (see also 6, 20, 23, 34, 75, 81, 93 and, possibly, 24). Romney was random in his approach, and the sequencing of drawings within this sketchbook is no guarantee as to when each was made. This drawing is no more complete or detailed than any of the earlier treatments of the theme, and less so than some. At the bottom of the page are four sketches of females one carrying a closed, another an open, book (see also 43 and 81.)
Page 81At lower left is the same female carrying a large book we saw in 80 (see also 43). Also repeated from 80, in reverse, is Rinaldo abandoning Armida. Here, the woman is hugely out of scale with the figures heading towards the boat. The boat and its boatmen are visible at the right. Two additional, very faint, sketches of figures related to this composition appear above and to the left of the composition drawing.
Page 82At top right is a composition drawing for The Warren Family which Romney completed by the end of April 1769. Though the composition here is close to that in the completed painting (see also a drawing in 96), it is clear that Romney is still experimenting with the poses of the figures, as a drawing of these same three figures at bottom right attests. If three faint drawings on this page of a seated man and woman are also related to the The Warren Family, they would be the only ones in this sketchbook which show both father and mother seated. However, given their similarity to drawings in 83, they probably represent a different subject.
To the left side of the page, in landscape orientation, are three drawings of Danae. Great care is taken in the modeling of the nude figure. This is the first time Romney has dealt with this subject in the sketchbook. The most detailed of these drawings shows the figure leaning back against rolled pillows and extending her left arm towards the golden shower (not indicated here). At this stage of Romney’s career, drawings of female nudes must be assumed to be derived from sculptures, paintings, or prints and to be intended for inclusion in subject paintings. Later, when in Rome, the artist would study the nude from life.
Page 83This sheet depicts subjects seen in 82. Once again, the bifurcation of subject matter mirrors Romney's dilemma: his need to paint portraits to earn his daily bread despite his determination to excel in the higher category of history painting.
The two portrait studies at the top of the page depict the same two seated figures that appear in three sketches in 82. At mid-page, in landscape orientation, the Danae figure seen in 82 appears in a composition set off within lines. In this instance, a cloud above the nude figure indicates the golden shower in which Zeus appeared to Danae. The figure with outspread arms at the left provides a particularly energetic interpretation of Danae's attendant. Jean-Baptiste Greuze gave an equally prominent focus to the handmaiden in an unfinished painting now in the Louvre (M.1.1068), which dates from 1760-70. In that painting the composition is reversed, with the attendant standing at the right, in front of the goddess's couch. Romney dined with Greuze during his visit to Paris in 1790, and it is also possible he met the artist during his visit to Paris with Thomas Greene in 1764, when he could have seen and been inspired by Greuze's interpretation of this subject.
Page 84In contrast to the lunette drawing in 78, the subject in this particular lunette can be identified. The drawing depicts Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see 22). Romney was either copying a work he saw in the same format or is designing his own composition for placement within a lunette. The latter seems unlikely as Romney was at no stage in his career hired as a painter of decorative interiors. Therefore, it is intriguing that he used the lunette framework for a number of drawings in succession. This drawing captures the intent of Tasso's verse; the seated Armida looks towards the mirror as the enthralled Rinaldo gazes into Armida's face (his left arm is studied twice). In contrast, the drawing to the right of this one, also in landscape orientation, places Rinaldo beneath Armida in a position from which it would be difficult to stare upwards into her face. However, this drawing reflects Domenichino's rendering of the subject. Two studies of Rinaldo appear beneath this drawing.
The remaining drawings, if viewed in landscape orientation, present a series of three images cascading down the page. Seen together they give a dramatic illustration of Romney's tendency to make split-second elisions from one subject to another. The first drawing suggests Venus, seen from the back, straining to restrain Adonis from leaving on the hunt; there is even a suggestion of Adonis' spear (see Romney's copy of Titian's painting in 16). A second similar drawing, in which the Adonis figure now appears to be seated, impinges upon a third drawing in which Adonis has
become Rinaldo, thrusting out a mirror as he leans against Armida.
Page 85The three drawings on this page relate to the theme of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see 22). In the uppermost drawing, inscribed within a lunette, three putti are depicted, one of which lifts up the mirror. Oddly, although the figure to the left is presented through an unruly pattern of lines and is thus difficult to decipher, it appears to have breasts and wears a gown instead of a tunic, as in another depiction of Rinaldo on the page. Perhaps the artist intended to switch the positions of Rinaldo and Armida. As it stands, the image is confusing.
Page 86
This sheet evokes Paris. The faint drawing at upper right suggests, in reverse, the Pieta by Nicolas Coustou behind the high altar in Notre Dame, Paris. Romney and Greene visited Notre Dame on September 19th and 27th 1764. A drawing at the bottom of the page depicts a large group of people including a small child gathered around a commanding figure, presumably Christ, gesturing with his right hand. These figures may reference figures from Jean Jouvenet's The Resurrection of Lazarus, one of the paintings that Greene’s journal mentions he and Romney saw in the church of Saint Martin-des-Champs in Paris on September 22nd. Confiscated from this former church during the Revolution, this painting is now in the Louvre (Inv. No. 5489). While in Paris, Romney could have purchased an engraving of this painting by Jean Audran and thus have had it available in later years in London. Another group of figures from this painting is referenced in drawings in Courtauld Sketchbook No. 1, which dates from c. 1770 (e.g. 11 and 26).
The most detailed drawing on this page is a study of a young woman with pouty lips and nearly closed eyes. It conveys something of the seductive insouciance of females depicted by Jean-Baptiste Greuze. If Romney did, in fact, have this sketchbook with him in Paris, this drawing may reflect a work he saw there by Greuze. Conversely, it could register the influence of a print after Greuze, in which case it could have been done some years after the 1764 visit. The figure's hairstyle, with its soft curls framing the face and the characteristic headband, signal the influence of Greuze. Also, Greuze favored an oval format in many of his paintings of seductive females, and an oval is suggested here by the background shading describing a curve at the right side of the drawing. In addition, the figure's low-cut dress and the partial exposure of the right breast (emphasized by delicate shading) further locate this image within Greuze's manner.
The drawing within the lunette is connected to other drawings depicting Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see particularly 84, 85, 87, and 88). As in 85, a standing putto raises the mirror. Also as in 85, the identification of the subject is clouded by the fact that ‘Rinaldo’ is a winsome figure clothed in long draperies, thus giving the impression of being female.
Page 87
Three drawings for Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden appear in landscape orientation, two within a lunette format. One of the drawings includes putti to the right. (Refer also to 84, 85, 86, and 88).
Page 88
Two drawings in landscape orientation depict Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden. One of these is set within a faintly indicated lunette. A standing figure in a gown with a large sash tied at the back appears sideways at upper left. Upside down at the top of the page is a drawing of a pair of striding females similar to those in 77, studies for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality.
A tiny thumbnail portrait study at bottom right depicts a seated woman and standing infant. Four less detailed drawings, variants of this subject, are arrayed around the thumbnail.
Page 89
Four drawings, filling most of the page, relate to Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see 22). At the top of the page, upside down at the left, is a faint sketch of two standing figures very similar to those in a portrait composition in 72. To the right of that drawing, also upside down, is an extremely faint composition depicting a standing figure along with a seated one. Compare this to a very similar drawing in 52. Both of these compositions may have some relation to ideas Romney was working on for his painting of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, in that they focus on two females. However, they have nothing to do with the painting as eventually realized. As with most such studies in the sketchbook, the figures are shown full length, rather than half-length as in the painting.
Page 90
Upside down at the top of the page are two drawings of a seated female. The figure shares the contrapposto of the seated figures in 16, 19, 39 and 79, but in these drawings the left arm extends outwards. A very faint sketch of a seated figure, viewed from behind and leaning backwards, appears between these drawings. Beneath these drawings, also upside down, is a landscape drawing in black chalk. Very reductive in its form, it depicts heavily shaded trees silhouetted against a more lightly sketched sky and clouds.
Page 91
A strike through of the black chalk landscape on the facing page is present here. This page has six studies of standing females. Five depict a single figure, in one instance resting her right elbow on an urn, an allusion to mortality. The sixth drawing, which includes a second female, bears some similarity, in reverse, to a pair of females in 23, presumably the first instance in the sketchbook of a drawing related to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. Additional similar drawings are seen in 73 and 77. Here, the figures are shown half rather than full-length.
Page 92
At the left, a figure in a long gown presides at an altar from which smoke rises. This is the only such image in the sketchbook. Unless Romney is creating a startling fusion of subject matter, this should be regarded as a discrete subject, unrelated to the group on the same plane at the right, which depicts several figures standing behind a woman with bowed head. This group can be compared with figures in 31. If connected to the figures in 31 instead of to the figure at the altar, the subject would be The Accusation of Susannah (see also 25 and 99). Romney dealt with this subject in a number of drawings in other sketchbooks, among them Courtauld Sketchbook No. l, datable to around 1770 (e.g. 1v, 2, 24v, 25v, 26, 30v, 34v, 35v, 36, 36v, 38v and 40v). He also made drawings and at least one painting on The Accusation of Susannah after his return from Italy.
Page 93
Upside down on the page is a large composition drawing for Rinaldo abandoning Armida. This is a rare example in this sketchbook of the artist using an entire page for one drawing. The muscular anatomy of the male figures is rendered more clearly here than in other drawings on the subject (see 6, 20, 23, 24, 28, 34, 75, 80, and 81).
Page 94
On the top half of the page is a large, though faint, drawing of a standing woman. Two locks of the woman's fashionable upswept hairdo are accented by dark shading. The woman’s outspread arms with upturned palms, an unusually active gesture, make it difficult to regard this as a portrait study. Superimposed on this drawing is a ghost image of the standing woman appearing in 95. A man's eyes, nose, and prominent mouth appear in a very small drawing at upper right. The blank eyes, fleshy nose, and stern, full mouth suggest this was studied from a classical cast or print. A rather faint, but extremely sensitive and graceful study of a hand issuing from a frilly cuff, appears at mid-page (compare this to other drawings of hands in 1 and 27). Convincing renderings of hands were essential to a portrait painter's craft.
Page 95
A large profile drawing of a standing woman occupies the center of the page. Another slight sketch of this woman is below at left. This figure's straight, thin nose and parted lips, recall the female figure in 31 and her pose has similarities to the standing woman in a group of figures in 92, all of which may relate this drawing to The Accusation of Susannah. At the left are three drawings of a seated figure with its right hand on its forehead. The drawings are difficult to decipher, but the one in the center allows us to discern that a second figure leans against the first, draping its left arm over that figure's
knees. Very faint ghost images of two ink drawings in 96 can be discerned on this page.
Page 96
Two brown ink drawings of landscape fragments come as a surprise. The first landscape, sideways at top left, consists of craggy rocks and mountains. The second, at lower right, depicts a round-arched bridge behind which is the oversized base of an architectural feature supporting a strange column-like form attached to a fragmentary wall with a small window. The road across the bridge appears to dead-end at a craggy form at the right. Fields, buildings, and a mountain are in the distance. These drawings were no doubt inspired by Italianate landscapes, and the crosshatching methods employed indicate a print source. (See a much different landscape with an arched bridge in 29.)
In landscape orientation at the left is a graphite composition drawing of The Warren Family. Though less detailed than the study in 82, to which it is similar, it comes even closer to mirroring the composition of the final painting in that Lady Warren's right arm is extended downward rather than crossed over her lap. It would be fitting if the sketch that most closely presents the compositional arrangement of the painting were the last one of the series of preliminary studies in the sketchbook. However, it needs to be considered whether or not a difficult-to-read sketch on page 99 should also be regarded as a study for The Warren Family.
Page 97A small graphite drawing depicts a half-length female, right arm bent at the waist. The figure's left arm extends downward, its index finger touching what appears to be a skull. The presence of a skull obviously suggests a vanitas theme. In paintings of Mary Magdalene, the saint is often shown contemplating a skull. At a much later period Romney painted Emma Hamilton as a Magdalene. This image stands alone in the sketchbook although it reinforces the fact that Romney and many of his colleagues shared a fascination during this period with themes of melancholy and mortality, an interest that provided the basis for the artist's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (1767) and Melancholy (1770).
To the right, sideways on the page, is a pen and brown ink drawing of a round tower with a complicated profile, widening as it descends. Beside it are juxtaposed two similarly-complicated architectural forms. This is not a unified drawing but, rather, a study of separate fragments, an architectural fantasy of brobdingnagian proportions.
Page 98Only one drawing on this page is right side up. The others are in landscape orientation or upside down. Two portrait studies marked off within rectangles depict a woman with arms resting on a stone ball or urn (see an analogous figure in 7). Two drawings of young women, one wearing a lacy cap, may be portrait studies or ideas for genre paintings. A faint facial study is set down between these two. Two drawings of standing females reflect casual observation of gesture and movement as seen earlier as in 13. Less marked in this regard is a third standing figure to the right of these.
At top left, upside down, a figural grouping shows a figure leaning against a chair. A small child standing on a table reaches towards this figure; two additional figures stand behind. The liveliness and complicated arrangement of this scene suggest a group portrait in the manner of a conversation piece. This is the only drawing in the sketchbook to depict this particular group. To the right of this is a drawing of a standing male nude, hands clasped
and head bowed.
Page 99Upside down at the top of the page is a vague sketch, probably a portrait study. The two figures at the right are close in pose to those of Lady Warren and her daughter in 82. A curved line in the background may suggest the Colosseum, as seen in the painting. It is difficult to discern whether or not lines at the left in the composition are intended to describe a standing figure; if so, this would be Sir George Warren. If this sketch is indeed meant to be a study for The Warren Family, it revisits the compositional solution arrived at in 96, which mirrors that of the finished painting.
Five drawings of female nudes, two marked off within rectangles, fill much of the page. Most likely depicting Venus, two of the drawings include putti. One of the drawings appears to include a second figure standing behind the seated nude.
Two powerful drawings depict the same two old men in long robes seen in 31. These are presumably Susannah's accusers from The Accusation of Susannah (see also 25, 31, and 92). The emphatic hand gesture of one of the men is rendered with impressive economy. (The two men can be compared to those on the subject in Courtauld Sketchbook No. l, in particular 40v.)
Page 100All the drawings on this page are upside down. Seated females are depicted in five sketches near the top of the page. In two of these, the figures play stringed instruments (compare with 40, 64, and 103). In another of the drawings, a woman rests an arm on a table that supports an oval object (perhaps an urn). The next row of images includes a detailed study after some version of Venus and Adonis (see also 16). Here, instead of being shown from the back sitting on her couch, Venus rises up to grasp Adonis around the waist. This is a free interpretation of the subject as canonically painted by Titian. Next to this is a half-length of a woman wearing a dark cloak over her gown, posed against a landscape. The index finger of her extended left arm points downward, evocative of a similar detail in Romney's Elizabeth, Lady Blunt (see note on 24).
Two pairs of standing females at mid-page may relate to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 23). Another petite drawing depicts a striding woman clad in tiny high-heeled shoes, a full skirt, and a fashionable hat worn at a tilt. A drawing at bottom left
depicts a seated couple with a slight similarity to figures in 48, though in this instance minus distaff and flute. A final portrait study at bottom right depicts a woman sitting at a harpsichord. She is accompanied by a standing figure that has been crossed through with repeated lines.
Page 101At the bottom of the page are two seated female nudes right arms raised to the head. At mid-page, upside down, is a bold, but clumsy, drawing of a seated figure, left arm raised. Scattered on the page are four figure studies of seated and standing women, which appear to be variants of one another. In one of the drawings, upside down at top right, the woman holds a parasol. In some of his studies for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, originating in sketchbooks now disassembled, Romney used a parasol as a prop, although there is otherwise nothing to suggest that this drawing is related to that subject. Upside down below the middle of the page is a delicate outline drawing of a woman's face and neck, somewhat similar in expression to the woman depicted in 31, though this drawing lacks the detail and finesse of that example. Behind this image, dark lines are superimposed on the forehead of an awkwardly drawn profile.
Page 102All the drawings on the page are upside down. The most impressive is a portrait study of a statuesque female in a pose that echoes, in reverse, that of Mrs. Henry Verelst, a full-length portrait dating from c.1771. The statuesque pose is emphasized by the device of having the figure descend a flight of stairs, placing the viewer in an inferior position, thus magnifying the grandeur of the personage depicted. The flowing drapery, highlighted and flattened against the figure's right thigh to stress the sculptural weight of the figure, further increases its palpability and, in this, goes far beyond the single figure thumbnail portrait studies earlier in the sketchbook. This drawing, with its sculptural quality differs greatly from roughly contemporaneous drawings for Melancholy, seen in 14. As much as anything, the stylistic divergence results from the difference in media: graphite vs. pen and ink. Nonetheless, this drawing is a throwback to a drawing style more prevalent a few years earlier. If it is, as it seems, a study for the Verelst portrait, this tiny drawing can establish the end date for the active use of the sketchbook as 1771. Two drawings, one very faint, depicting pairs of females may be related to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see 23). Two additional very slight sketches on the page are difficult to read.
Page 103All drawings on this page are upside down. Seven drawings, a number of them difficult to decipher, employ the medium of red chalk. One is a thumbnail portrait study depicting a half-length standing female against a shaded background. This may be a record of Romney’s portrait of Mrs. Mary Hunt, c. 1769. The others depict standing and seated females. In two of the drawings the figure plays a stringed instrument (see also 40, 64, and 100). One drawing of two females in black chalk is perhaps related to Romney's painting of Two Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. Black chalk squiggles appear at the bottom of the page.
Page 104All the drawings here are upside down. On the lower half of the page is a large black chalk drawing of the head of Chrysippus, the Greek Stoic philosopher (see note on 1). The source of light, striking from the front, is taken into account, plunging the back of the head into darkness and creating a pool of dark shadow behind. Graduated shading fills the background. As to why the two drawings of the philosopher are so widely spaced in the sketchbook, it may simply have been easier to prop open the end pages of the sketchbook in making such detailed drawings in the Duke of Richmond's gallery of casts. Romney must have made both drawings at the same time. One of the seated figures in the portrait study at top right is very similar to the seated figure in a portrait study in 52. This may be yet another early idea for the Two Sisters double portrait. Two very slight additional sketches of standing figures are difficult to make out.
YRD
At the top of the page to the left of center, in brown ink, are the names Hodgson (or Hodghson) Bradley, followed at the right, also in brown ink by an address, written twice: ‘No. 4 Inner Temple Lane up 3 pair of stairs.’ The Petworth House Archives (held by the West Sussex Record Office) have receipted bills dating between 1756-1760, which include some from ‘Bradley & Hodgson, carriers, Kendal’ (PHA /6647). Eighteenth-century English bullock drivers were known as ‘carriers’. Bradley and Hodgson might have been engaged by Romney in the early 1760s to transport items for him from Kendal to London or vice versa. In a letter of 30 March 1762, for example, he asked his wife to send paintings to him from Kendal ‘rolled up in a box, by the first waggon…’.
Written along the length of the page, also in brown ink, is another notation, most of which is difficult to decipher: ‘Mr Daves/Gloster Street [unreadable]/of the/Co[?] Joinson Collculla.’ These cryptic words are tantalizing. ‘Colculla’ (spelled with one less ‘l’) is the name of a character in Temora an Ossianic poem published by James Macpherson in 1763. Macpherson had earlier (1760) published Fragments of Ancient Poetry, Collected in the Highlands of Scotland, and in 1762, his most celebrated Ossianic poem, Fingal, was published. Romney, in his quest for historical and literary subjects and with his instinct to strike out in new directions in his subject matter, did illustrate Macpherson’s Ossian poems later, yet drawings on Ossianic subjects do not appear to be present in the Kendal Sketchbook.
Four vivid black chalk studies occupy the middle of this page. The first is a profile of a man's face, from forehead to chin, with a distinctive Roman nose and full lips. Set on top of this, heightened with white chalk, is a nuanced study of a left hand, its third finger gracefully
curved. (For other hand drawings see 27 and 94). A third drawing, easy to overlook because it is so small, is a tiny sphere, carefully outlined and shaded, appearing to the right of the hand study. The source of light is carefully observed, casting a dark pool of shadow below and to the left of this object.
The fourth, most arresting, of these black chalk studies depicts the head of a balding, bearded man, that of the Greek Stoic philosopher Chrysippus (c.279-206 BC). Marble heads of Chrysippus are in the Louvre (MR 529), the British Museum (Payne Knight collection), and the Vatican museums, among other collections. Romney's drawing takes slight liberties with standard images of the philosopher in that his Chrysippus has a beard that coils inwards towards the center. Classical marbles, reproduced in plaster of Paris, were readily available in the 18th century in shops like that on the Strand owned by John Flaxman’s father. William Hayley notes that Romney frequented the shop of John Flaxman’s father ‘to purchase figures in plaster’ (a list of six casts and what the artist paid for them is preserved in Barrow No. 1). Nevertheless, it is more likely that the Chrysippus head and the other chalk drawings on this page were studied from casts in the Duke of Richmond’s gallery of casts. The similarity of Romney's head to one appearing in a self-portrait by John Hamilton Mortimer suggests that both artists had access to the same casts in the Duke of Richmond’s gallery. Clearly, Romney had made this drawing by 1764 at the latest as a head nearly identical to the one studied here (and that in 104) appears in Romney's painting of Elizabeth, Lady Blunt, which dates to the latter half of 1764. Two casts of the same head also appear in A Conversation, exhibited in 1766.
The other chalk drawings on the page could also have been made in the Duke of Richmond's gallery, which had casts of the hands of Charity and Fortitude from Bernini's monument to Alexander VII and hands from Pierre Le Gros’s silver and copper statue of St. Ignatius. This carefully shaded hand study, with highlights of white chalk, would have aided Romney in painting hands in his portraits. For information on the cast gallery see John Kenworthy-Browne, ‘The Duke of Richmond's Gallery in Whitehall’ British Art Journal X/1, 2009.
At the bottom of the page, upside-down is a drawing in brown ink of two reclining figures. To the left of the Chrysippus head, in landscape orientation, is a faint graphite drawing of a figure kneeling over a supine figure with a full head of hair and beard. Also in graphite, above the hand study are additional notations including the numbers: ‘1/2, 11, 1= 77 and 1-’.
The mixture of media and techniques on this page, plus the inclusion of notations and aides memoire provide a meaningful introduction to Romney's manner as a draftsman. His sketchbooks are often an assemblage of unrelated material, suggesting an unsystematic approach. As an idea presented itself, the artist jotted it down, crowding images onto a page in random orientation, sometimes including written notations as well.
Page 2
A male figure in a two-wheeled chariot races on an upward diagonal behind speeding horses. At lower left is an indistinct figure, which could be a participant in the scene, or perhaps, more likely, an alternate pose for the figure in the chariot. Scribbled lines behind the chariot could suggest landscape elements. It is conceivable the subject may be Romney's recollection of the Fountain of Apollo at Versailles, a dramatic sculptural assemblage by Jean-Baptiste Tuby, dating from 1668-1671. Thomas Greene, who travelled to Paris with Romney in 1764, noted that the two ‘walked about in the gardens [of Versailles] admiring the fine marble statues…’. Tuby's complex sculpture of gilded bronze is sure to have made an impact on Romney as he and Greene wandered through the gardens. Baroque paintings which included chariots could also have influenced him.
Page 3
At bottom left on the page, oriented in landscape mode, is a thumbnail half-length portrait study of a woman. Such a mixing of small, thumbnail portrait studies with other types of drawings is characteristic of this sketchbook. This is the first of such drawings to appear. The composition, marked off by lines, completely fills the demarcated area. Within a landscape setting, the figure stands beside a fountain topped by sculpture adorned with infant nudes. This is a study for the portrait Mrs Judith Clive, c.1764. (See similar studies in 30 and at the bottom of 12.)
At the right side of the page, two additional rectangles are delineated, but the compositions within are unreadable. Eight additional faint sketches appear on the page. Three show figures from the back, two seated, one standing. One drawing at mid-page depicts the upper body of a woman in contemporary dress, left arm raised. To the left of this figure, sideways, is an almost unintelligible frontal crouching figure, and to its right are two very faint studies of heads. At the upper left of the page is a bare-legged figure shown di sotto in su with draperies swirling above its waist. (See note on 5.)
Page 4
Six drawings, two of them extremely faint, depict a winged, flying figure. (The wings appear most clearly on the figure lowest on the page). In the two most readable drawings, the right leg is shown in alternate poses. (See also 3 and 5.)
Page 5
On this page we see Romney’s mind moving on parallel tracks, combining portrait studies with subject ideas. The fairly detailed composition drawing occupying the upper part of this sheet is a fully realized presentation of a subject related to figure studies in 3 and 4. In this apotheosis scene, we see a di sotto in su image of a bearded man with flowing hair, wafted heavenward by a winged angel and four cherubs, one with visible wings. The man wears flowing robes, which leave his legs bare from the knee down. Curiously, the face of the flying figure, which bears the load of the man's body, has been scratched out with repeated lines.
What is surprising is that Romney could have been drawn to such a subject in the first place. It is true that the Italian decorative painters Cipriani and Zucchi were by now both in England, and cycles of paintings for lunettes and ceilings were being painted in London and at country seats. However, Romney could hardly have expected to be commissioned for such works. What is impressive is that he could be inspired by such a wide variety of poses in the first place and so eclectic in the images he chose to set down in his sketchbooks. It is possible he was simply intrigued by the unusual poses afforded by a vantage point ‘from below upwards’ and wanted to expand his abilities to represent the human figure in as wide a variety of poses as possible. That Romney took note of such sky-borne stagings is corroborated by his reference to The Assumption of the Virgin by Corregio [sic], or Parmigiano [sic], which he saw in Genoa en route to Rome in 1773. As he wrote in his travel journal, ‘The figure of the virgin is suspended in the clouds in a very becoming posture … She is surrounded by a group of angels and children’.
The apotheosis scene here was clearly influenced by various ceiling paintings or large canvases Romney could have seen in London and Paris. His composition appears to be a free adaptation combining two sources: Domenichino's St. Paul Being Borne Aloft and Le Sueur’s St Bruno is Carried Up to Heaven. Romney could have seen both these works while visiting Paris with Thomas Greene in 1764. The Domenichino painting had been in the French Royal collections
since before 1695, and Le Sueur’s painting was in the Carthusian monastery in Paris, which, as we know from Thomas Greene's account, Romney visited twice. These connections raise the possibility that Romney took this sketchbook with him to Paris in August of 1764. Certain additional drawings in the sketchbook lend support to that speculation, among them 45, 64 and 78. It is possible Romney was inspired by apotheosis paintings he saw in Paris to contemplate a painting on the subject of the apotheosis of Shakespeare.
On the lower half of the page, two studies for a group portrait are marked out within rectangles. These are the first drawings in the sketchbook for The Warren Family, a commission Romney received during his 1767 visit to Lancaster. The painting was completed by spring of 1769, and was included in the exhibition of the Free Society of Artists that opened on May 1 of that year. The Kendal sketchbook has at least fifteen studies for this painting on six different pages, or possibly more, depending upon how one interprets several very faint drawings. In the completed portrait, Sir George Warren stands to the left, his right arm extended, gesturing towards the Roman Colosseum in the background; Lady Warren sits in the center, while the child, Elizabeth, stands at the right holding a bird. The two drawings on this page present a composition different from that of the painting and different from one another. Both drawings show the father standing at the right and the mother seated. The position of the child is the major difference between the drawings: In the one to the left, the child is in the center; in the other drawing she stands to the left of her mother. Romney worked on The Warren Family at widely separated points in the sketchbook (See 7, 18, 20, 82, and 96), using the drawings to try out various compositional arrangements.
Page 6
Marked out in landscape orientation at the center of the page is a subject that will capture Romney's attention in at least thirteen composition drawings and figural studies in this sketchbook. The basic composition shows two males urging a third towards a waiting boat, manned by additional figures. The reluctant male looks back toward a female, nude above the waist, lying face up on the ground in front of dark rocks or a cavern. In this particular drawing an additional head appears in the central group, but this is likely an alternate pose for the figure in the middle. (A faint additional study of figures from the composition appears just to the right.)
The subject may be identified as Rinaldo abandoning Armida, an episode from Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata. The episode occurs in Canto XVI, lines 425-28 and 437-44 wherein Carlo and Ubaldo persuade Rinaldo to leave Armida and rejoin the crusaders' battles:
She could no more; as these last words she spoke,
Scarce from her lips the sounds imperfect broke.
She faints! She sinks! all breathless pale she lies
In chilly sweats, and shuts her languid eyes...
'Twixt life and death her struggling senses lost?
Compassion pleads, and courtesy detains;
But dire necessity his flight constrains.
He parts:--and now a friendly breeze prevails,
(The pilot's tresses waving in the gales)
The golden sail o'er surging ocean speeds,
And from the sight the flying shore recedes.
(Trans. Hoole, 1763)
Tasso's epic poem was enjoying a revival in popularity in England during this period. Philip Doyne's translation of the poem, The Delivery of Jerusalem, was published in 1 761, and John Hoole published another translation, Jerusalem Delivered, in 1763. Romney was not alone in turning to Tasso's epic poem for inspiration. For example, Benjamin West produced a painting based on the poem in the l760s, and Angelica Kauffmann painted at least three scenes based on the poem, exhibiting them at the Royal Academy in the l770s. Romney's composition is close in concept to a 1742/1745 painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (See other drawings on this subject in 20, 23, 24, 28, 34, 75, 80, 81, and 93). The identification of this drawing as a scene from Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata is further strengthened by the fact that Romney also dealt with another episode from this poem, Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden, in an equally large number of sketches in the sketchbook (See 22.) At the bottom of the page are two sketches of a seated woman.
Page 7At top right is a study for The Warren Family. Here, in contrast to drawings in 5, Lady Warren stands while her husband sits. The child stands between them. Curved lines in the background may suggest the Colosseum in Rome, which features in the finished painting. This drawing overlaps a faint image of a well-muscled figure, right arm raised.
Two drawings to the left of the page may be early ideas for Romney's portrait of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. This is suggested by the fact that the seated woman rests her arm upon an urn, a symbol of mortality. In one of the drawings, two small figures crouch at this figure's feet. Conversely, these could be part of a sculptural relief on the support for the urn. The present drawing is the first in the sketchbook to show a seated female in a double portrait touching an urn. The others in the group are in 21, 43, 45, and 51. In the upper drawing, a second woman, right arm raised, stands behind the seated figure, while in the lower drawing this figure holds a staff (perhaps a shepherd's crook) in her upraised arm as she bends towards the seated woman. (For related drawings showing the second figure holding a staff see 43, 47, 51, and 52.) As the staff has no direct connection with the theme of mortality, the reason for its inclusion is unclear. Also likely to be portrait studies are six slight sketches depicting a seated woman with two, sometimes three, children. (See two similar, more detailed, depictions of this group in 36.)
Page 8The most striking image on this page is a densely shaded study of a kneeling woman with arms outspread. The dramatic lighting striking the woman from above infuses the scene with a spiritual quality, reinforced by the woman's kneeling pose and rapt expression. The woman is either veiled or has long, flowing hair. In 1765, Romney exhibited A lady’s head, in the character of a saint, three quarters. This drawing may be related to that painting. See 10 and 30 for additional studies of this figure. These drawings appear to have been directly influenced by Charles Le Brun's The Repentant Magdalen, which Romney saw in the Carmelite church in Paris in 1764 and which was singled out in Thomas Greene's journal as a work which excited their attention.
On the lower half of the page, five nearly identical drawings depict a standing woman facing the viewer, presumably portrait studies. Another drawing shows a casually seated man looking upwards at a woman in an apron and mob cap (or bonnet), whose right arm is raised. A line (a broom?) slants downward. A genre scene rather than a portrait is suggested. Above the middle of the page is a slight sketch of the same seated man, here reversed. At the top of the page, left, is another drawing of a standing woman and a seated male, but here the woman wears a full-sleeved gown and no cap. At mid-page, right, is a faintly rendered scene with several figures that is difficult to interpret.
Page 9At the bottom of the page, left, is the same pair seen at top left in 8, a stylishly-clad woman with modish hairdo standing before a seated male. Here the drawing is in brown ink, crossed through with lines.
In the center at the bottom of the page is a carefully shaded head of a female wearing a headband and peaked cap pushed back on her head. The fastidious shading and careful observation of this face present a striking contrast to all the other drawings on the page. The artist's meticulous concentration has produced a tiny, realistic gem, a testament to his powers of observation. This facial type was echoed later in one of the women in the artist's Sir Roger de Coverley and the Gypsies, of c. 1770.
At mid-page, upside down, are two drawings, enclosed within lines, depicting a seated female, both legs bent sharply at the knee and right arm extended along a support. A kneeling infant extends its head towards her bared breast. Roundish forms in one of the drawings may imply additional figures. The bared breast and the infant suggest a Charity or a Madonna Lactans subject, although the curiously animated pose of the woman and the infant's awkward reach towards the breast subvert such interpretations. A third, faint sketch of the woman and infant appears below these drawings.
At the top of the page, also upside down, is a frontal standing female in contrapposto. Three figures viewed from behind depart at left. This drawing is related to drawings in 12.
Page 10The kneeling woman seen in 8, possibly a study for A lady s head, in the character of a saint, three quarters, appears again here in four studies (see also 30). Oddly, the most detailed of these, within a rectangle and densely shaded, cuts the women's extended left leg off at the knee. One of the drawings reflects the pose of the figure in 8, with the arms flung wide; the other drawings vary the pose, with one or both of the woman's arms bent at the elbow. A standing woman at bottom right may be related to these drawings though it also bears similarities to figures on the following page (11). Two additional faint sketches of standing figures complete the images on this page.
Page 11All the drawings on this page are upside down. In four particularly engaging drawings, a standing woman varies her pose in an almost cinematic manner. Gracefully managed draperies enhance the figure's allure. The artist's precise observation suggests the finesse of Watteau. With deft economy, Romney captures the woman's tiny feet with their mincing gait and renders hand gestures with the utmost delicacy. Three drawings marked off within rectangles depict two standing and one seated woman. These drawings, more evidently than the others on the page, are intended as portrait studies. A tiny face at mid-page, left, is related to the drawings of standing women above and below it. Additional vague marks are difficult to decipher.
Page 12A composition at mid-page right is echoed by figure studies above it. (All are upside down.) It may be an idea for a subject picture rather than a portrait. Supporting this view is the fact that a figure at the left is half cut off and shown from the back. In addition, the principal figure in the composition is shown in vigorous contrapposto rather than in the repose more typical of portraits. Two very similar drawings in landscape orientation are half-length studies of a woman in a landscape. The pose of this figure is similar to that of two of the full-length figures on the previous page (11).
A drawing upside down at the bottom of the page provides an interesting demonstration of Romney’s graphic method. Lightly delineating the female figure in graphite, the artist next starts adding dense shading, beginning at the right (when the drawing is viewed right side up). This is an unusual piecemeal method to use in applying chiaroscuro. The woman’s pose and the widecollared cloak she wears are suggestive of Romney’s Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle, c.1764. A very faint sketch of a woman's head and torso at mid-page is probably unrelated to other drawings on the page.
Page 13All the drawings on the page are upside down. At the bottom, eight standing female figures rush through space, displaying a variety of poses and gestures. With split second timing, the artist captures the moving pageant of life going on about him with the same verve as in 11. One of the figures wears a wide-collared cloak like the figure in a portrait study at the bottom of 12; possibly both drawings are related to the portrait of Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle (c. 1764).
Six drawings depict male figures. In two of these the man is seated. In four others, he stands. The poses reflect common types Romney had by this time adopted in his portraiture. Of great interest here is the transformation that the standing male figure undergoes. Twice shown in contemporary dress (coat, waistcoat, and breeches), the figure appears to be studied for a portrait. Abruptly, the staging changes: The striding figure now wears Roman armor and a plumed hat or helmet and brandishes a dagger. While the man's right arm now makes a different gesture, his legs are identical. (See 15 for a discussion of the possible subject of this drawing.) Trapped by ‘this cursed portrait painting’ in order to earn his livelihood, Romney was always seeking to excel, instead, in the loftier art of history painting. That ambivalence finds direct expression on this page, as an eighteenth-century male becomes transformed into an actor in a historical drama.
The emotionally-charged figure standing by herself upside down at top left prefigures, in her active, expressive pose, various identities Emma Hart would assume as Romney's model, beginning in the 1780s.
Page 14Two drawings on this page relate to Romney's important early masterpiece of 1763, The Death of General Wolfe (now lost). A figure lying on the ground, supported by a second figure, shows, in reverse, the same figure that appears in two drawings in 15. With careful modeling, the artist conveys Wolfe's powerful musculature. The sharply bent head suggests the figure is dying. In a second carefully modeled drawing below, two figures support the slumping body of the mortally wounded general. It is curious that these drawings appear next to three studies, in brown ink, of the figure of Melancholy, a painting the artist exhibited in 1770. Employing different media and placed upside down in relation to the Wolfe drawings, the drawings of Melancholy must have been opportunistically inserted at a later date to fill an empty spot in the sketchbook. (One of the drawings is actually superimposed on a slight graphite sketch beneath.) The calligraphic fluency and ease of their style sharply contrast with the sober, carefully shaded forms of the Wolfe drawings. Likewise, Melancholy's elongated figure, formed of flowing S-shaped curves and wearing generalized rather than contemporary clothing, forms an instructive contrast with the more directly observed graphite figures of the young women in 13. There are other drawings for Melancholy in Barrow sketchbook No. 1 and Truro sketchbook No. 1, and many have appeared on the open market.
The graphite sketches of the Wolfe composition here and in 15 are the only preliminary drawings thus far identified although two oil sketches (Abbot Hall Gallery, Kendal and New Brunswick Museum, Canada) have been associated with the Wolfe painting. Two faint sketches of a seated male, in one case holding a tablet, appear upside down at bottom right.
Page 15Two drawings related to The Death of General Wolfe (1763) appear at the bottom of this sheet. These conform to the contemporary description of the painting cited by Jennifer C. Watson (Jennifer C. Watson: George Romney in Canada (1985) p. 21): ‘The Genl. Is represented leaning against & supported (by) two Officers who Express great Concern, the Blood appears trickling from the Wound in his Wrist & from that in his Breast agt. which one of the Officers holds his Hand a third Officer is coming to the Genl. (to) inform him the french give way & appears greatly struck with Surprize.’ In the lightly sketched drawing at the left, the ‘third Officer’ mentioned in this description enters the scene. The second drawing, filled in with shading, includes a battle flag, balanced by a stubby tree to the right. Here, the modeling of the figure of Wolfe is more cursory than in 14. Three sketches, upside down, of a supine figure are also probably connected to the Wolfe composition.
Another figural grouping above the Wolfe studies depicts a collapsing woman supported by two other figures; a third figure rushes away at the right. This figural grouping recalls the group of three figures in 14, yet is definitely not related to The Death of General Wolfe. For Romney, a particular pose could often trigger an idea for an entirely different subject, as evidenced here. A faint sketch at top right is another study of this collapsing woman.
At top left is the same dagger-wielding warrior clad in a plumed helmet and Roman armor first seen in 13. Here, the armband attached to the man's faintly-indicated shield is evident. A pool of shadow to the right gives the figure spatial context. It is possible this may represent Lucius Junius Brutus, legendary founder of the Roman Republic. After Lucretia's rape by Tarquin and her subsequent suicide, Lucretia's body was taken to the Roman forum, where Brutus raised his dagger and swore an oath to drive the Tarquinii from Rome. For other drawings which may be associated with the Lucretia story see 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 53, and 78.
Page 16At the bottom of the page is a fully worked up, densely shaded composition drawing based on a version of Titian's Venus and Adonis. Titian's concept of the myth was accessible during the 18th Century through various autograph versions, workshop products, copies, and engravings. (Over thirty such versions survive today.) The painted version Romney would have seen was one that was in the Orleans collection at the Palais Royal when he and Thomas Greene visited Paris in 1764. Yet, in that version, Adonis wears a hunter's cap. Further, since Romney shows the original composition in reverse, he must have been working from an engraving. Even here, however, he takes liberties in copying Titian's composition. Venus's left leg is hanging down rather than splayed out, and Adonis is depicted almost directly above Venus rather than to the side. Finally, instead of the sleeping Eros in the background, there are two putti toying with arrows. Given Romney's susceptibility to the charms of female beauty and his desire to improve his ability to render the female nude, Titian's painting was a logical subject for him to study. Evidence of Romney's interest in Titian and Venetian art in general is suggested by his notation in RA Sketchbook No. 2: ‘Aretin a Dialogue on Painting.’ This must refer to Lodovico Dolce' s l'Aretino, which concludes with a paean to Titian). For another drawing featuring Venus and Adonis see l00.
At mid-page, upside down, is a seated half-draped figure with a putto at its knees. The upraised left arm echoes that of Adonis above. However, this cannot be a representation of Adonis. Instead, it mirrors similar drawings later in the sketchbook. (See note on 19 and also 38 and 79). Two scribbly sketches of a striding female figure appear upside down at the top of the page. This figure closely resembles one in two drawings in 12.
Page 17Three studies of a nude woman reaching out to grasp a standing male about the waist are clearly derived from Romney’s study of the print of Titian’s Venus and Adonis (see 16). Here Venus has become a more athletic figure in Romney's powerful reworking of the poses. The figure twists with a dynamic torsion expressive of energy and emotion, different from the harmonious plenitude conveyed by Titian’s Venus, as mirrored in Romney's copy. Romney has internalized the lessons learned from Titian to express himself in an idiom all his own. Below the middle of the page is a faint sketch of extended legs and an outstretched body, presumably related to the drawings above.
At the bottom of the page is a lightly sketched group of dancers. Romney often sketched dancing figures, which are found in many of his works. If this sketch was purpose-driven, it could be that it expresses an idea for dancers in the bacchanalian relief seen in the background of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. See additional drawings of dancers in 40, 41, 44, 72, and 76. (The dancers here are somewhat similar to those in 40.)
Page 18Three studies for The Warren Family appear upside down on this page. (See note in 5.) In two of the drawings, the father sits at the left, the child is in the center, and the stepmother stands at the right. The third drawing changes this arrangement. There, the father stands at the left, the mother sits in the center, and the child stands at the right. It is this arrangement (seen also in 82 and 96) that was adopted in the completed painting. At this point, however, Romney is still experimenting with the arrangement of the figures.
There are scribbled lines at the left side of the page. A slight sketch of a dancing figure and a shaded object (a foreshortened book?) appear at bottom right. The dancer echoes the pose of two similar figures in 39.
Page 19An intriguing composition appears in landscape orientation at the bottom right of this sheet. Viewed upright, it shows a woman, arm extended, staring down at a man lying face up in her lap. His legs are bent over the side of what could be a bier. A robed figure shines a lantern upon the couple. Beyond the dark interior, shown in perspective, is a backdrop of dark clouds obscuring the moon in a night sky. One immediately thinks of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene 3, when Juliet recovers from her drugged, death-like sleep to find her lover dead from poison. Romney did not produce a painting on this subject in the 1760s, nor did he explore it as a topic in the mid-1780s, after the launching of the Boydell Shakespeare Galle ry. Yet this powerful drawing suggests he could have created an impressive work based on Romeo and Juliet in the Tomb had he pursued this composition further. A second, very slight, rendering of the female with the body across her lap is at the right of the fully worked-up composition.
The elongated vertical format of Romney's tomb scene suggests a bookplate illustration. Nicholas Rowe's 1709 edition of Romeo and Juliet had as its frontispiece an engraving of the tomb scene by Elisha Kirkall after Francois Boitard. Later illustrations, which incorporated Friar Laurence holding a lantern, include those by Gerard Vander Gucht after Hubert Gravelot (1740) and by Anthony Walker (1754). While Romney may have been familiar with one or another of these prints, his own design is superior to them in its concentrated focus and simplicity. The earlier illustrations, instead, are overwhelmed with subsidiary details. The murky lighting effects and the fact that the scene takes place in a stage-like setting against a flat backdrop lead one to also consider whether current theatrical performance influenced Romney. However, Romeo and Juliet, as currently performed, had been rewritten by David Garrick to have Juliet wake up before Romeo dies, and the two have a few final moments together. In 1753, Benjamin Wilson had painted Garrick as Romeo, standing with right arm raised in amazement as Juliet awakens and rises from her bier. This treatment is very different from Romney’s, which is closer to the text as Shakespeare wrote it in that Romeo is already dead in Juliet’s lap. Below the center of the page to the left are three studies of a figure in a similar pose to that of a seated figure in 16. Here, the figure’s face is frontal and clearly female. The most detailed of these three drawings includes the putto seen also in 16, touching the female figure's right hand. Though not exact copies, these drawings evoke comparison with Terpsichore, the muse of dance, by the seventeenth-century French painter Eustache Le Sueur for the Chamber of the Muses in the Hotel Lambert between 1652-55 (now in the Louvre). A companion painting in this suite of pictures, Urania, the muse of astronomy, is shown in a roughly similar pose. Romney was particularly responsive to the art of Le Sueur. Though he did not favor the work of contemporary French painters, ‘those of the time of Louis the fourteenth are very great, and every church and palace is filled with them’, he wrote in a letter to his brother Peter. As John Romney observes, ‘Among the French painters, the works of Le Sueur seemed to coincide the most with his own ideas’. Thomas Greene’s journal of his trip to Paris with Romney in 1764 mentions Le Sueur three times, so we know this painter received special consideration. Le Sueur’s pretty feminine types, with their sweetness and harmonious coloring, were bound to appeal to Romney. A total of seven drawings of this figure appear in the Kendal Sketchbook (see 17, 19, 38, 79). Upside-down to the other images on the sheet are a male in contemporary dress, perhaps a portrait study, and a standing female reaching towards an object held by a putto.
Page 20On this page, as on many others in the sketchbook, Romney mixes portrait studies with subject compositions. The five portrait studies, ranging from a slight scribble to an amply shaded study contained within rectangular borders, all show a man, a woman, and female child. They are, without doubt, trial groupings for the figures in The Warren Family (see also 5, 7, 18, 82, and 96). The drawing at bottom left is set down on top of the figure of Armida, a figure at the right in a composition drawing for Rinaldo abandoning Armida, first seen in 6. (This composition should be viewed in landscape orientation.) The central group of figures in this composition, Rinaldo and his two companions, appear to the left of Armida, and the boat is faintly indicated further to the left. Another drawing of Rinaldo and one of his companions appears upside down at top center on the page.
Page 21The largest drawing on this sheet depicts a seated woman leaning backwards, grasping a nude male about the buttocks. This may be, as in 17, another instance of Romney's reworking a pose ultimately derived from Titian's Venus and Adonis (see 16), demonstrating his ability to redirect a particular pose towards a different subject. Here the figures are reversed from those in the artist's study after Titian. In addition, the female is shown from the front, the male from the back. Though the lower part of the woman’s body, with one leg studied in alternate poses, appears unclothed, a waistband and sleeve suggest she is not. The male is nude. At top left, upside down, is a sensitively rendered drawing of a seated female nude, arms upraised and legs crossed at the ankle. A second, scarcely readable sketch, which may also depict this figure, is at bottom right.
Just above the center of the page is a sketch for the composition seen in 19, Romeo and Juliet in the Tomb, though here the woman appears to the left rather than in the center. The extravagant bent-knee pose of Romeo suggests a signature pose of Garrick's, as reflected in Hogarth’s and Hayman’s depictions of the actor. However, Garrick's staging of Romeo and Juliet is not consistent with Romney’s depiction of the tomb scene since the actor rewrote the ending to have Juliet wake up before Romeo's suicide and the two share a few moments before they die. That is clearly not the case here since Romeo's lifeless body is draped over the newly awakened Juliet's lap.
Beneath this drawing, to the right, is a slight sketch of a standing adult with a child. This could possibly be another study for The Warren Family (see note on 5). The drawing upside down at top right depicts the same woman seen resting her hand atop an urn in 7. On this page, the second woman, rather than holding a staff, as in 7, sits on a higher level behind the first figure. A landscape background is suggested in the densely shaded background. A second study of these two women, also upside down, appears at the middle of the page. For other similar drawings see 43, 45, and 51.
Page 22At bottom right are three studies of a seated man gazing at a woman who looks at her own image in a mirror. The subject can be identified as Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden, from Tasso's, Gerusalemme Liberata. Tasso's epic poem, first published in 1581, is a fanciful tale about the First Crusade, which centers on the conflict between love and duty. Rinaldo, a Christian prince aiding the Saracens in defending Jerusalem, seeks out the sorceress Armida to convince her to reverse the spell she has put on several of his companions, which has turned them into monsters. In Armida's enchanted garden, the two fall in love:
Dependent from his side (unusual sight!)
Appear'd a polish'd mirror, beamy bright:
This in his hand th' enamour'd champion rais'd;
On this, with smiles, the fair Armida gaz'd.
She in the glass her form reflected ‘spies:
And he consults the mirror of her eyes.
(Canto XVI, 145-150; trans. Hoole, 1763)
Titian was clearly of help to Romney in depicting Armida’s body, as one can see in comparing these drawings to the artist's copy of Venus and Adonis (see 16). A similar nude has been employed in a drawing of The Toilet of Venus upside down at the top of this page. The image of Venus looking in a mirror held by her maidservant has been awkwardly combined with two figures rummaging through a cassone at the right. These figures are reminiscent of figures in the right background of another of Titian's paintings, Venus of Urbino, which Romney could have known through an engraving. In this manner did Romney perfect his method, studying the works of the Old Masters and then redeploying motifs in subjects of his own. Romney may have been drawn to the theme of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida's enchanted Garden through his familiarity with Domenichino's painting on the subject, a work acquired by Louis XIV in 1685 and in the French Royal Collections when Romney visited Paris in 1764. Romney also studied the subject in Royal Academy Sketchbook No. 2.
A drawing in the center of the page depicts a female nude standing on rocks and leaning against a post. This vaguely resembles Andromeda, as seen in many drawings later in the sketchbook. (See 50, 51, and 53-63.) A figure to the right may represent Andromeda in reverse. There are additional scribbles on the page, one of which suggests a profile.
Page 23All drawings here are in landscape orientation, which is seldom the case in this sketchbook, in which it occurs only 23 times. On this page, Romney deals with both of the subjects that interested him from Gerusalemme Liberata, Tasso's epic poem. Two drawings depict Rinaldo abandoning Armina and two others depict Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden. (For additional information on these subjects, see 6 and 22.)
Two additional drawings appear here which are unrelated to the Rinaldo and Armida story. The one at the bottom of the page depicts a woman and a foreshortened, reclining infant. The other, depicting two striding females, is of more interest. It is very likely a study for Romney's portrait of Two Sisters, half-length, which he exhibited in 1767 at the Free Society of Artists, and which is now untraced. In 1770, Robert Dunkarton exhibited at the Society of Artists the proof of a mezzotint after Romney, undoubtedly the portrait in question, under the title Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. This particular drawing, though full length, evokes the figures in the Dunkarton print. The Kendal Sketchbook has a large number of drawings of two striding females analogous to these, which are presumably related to this painting. These occur on the following pages: 39, 40, 43, 52, 63, 73, 75, 77, 88, 91, 100, 102, and (possibly) 103. The example on page 43 has one of the figures pointing towards a sculpted pedestal topped by an urn, most likely a grave marker, which would obviously underscore the theme of mortality. Most of the drawings in the series depict the figures at full-length, rather than half-length as in the completed painting.
Page 24The drawings on this page are upside down. The densely shaded thumbnail drawing can be tied with confidence to a completed portrait, Elizabeth, Lady Blunt, c. 1764. In the painting, the setting is out of doors, with a landscape opening in the distance. Here, the setting is an interior. Drapery and an elaborate pull cord frame the figure. The sitter’s right elbow rests atop a classical bust, as it does in the completed painting. Her pose closely approximates to that of the painting, although here the index finger of her left hand is not pointed downward, and her costume lacks the sash, which features prominently in the painting. Despite the small size of this drawing, the artist has nonetheless managed to suggest Lady Blunt's hairstyle and individual features. The variegated shading is closely attended to here, giving the effect of light streaming in through a window to the left, illuminating the upper part of the sitter's body; however, the handling of light striking the plinth seems arbitrary. This drawing differs strongly from the more ephemeral additional sketches on the page. (For another possible study for Lady Blunt see 100).
A faint sketch of a standing woman at top right, while it echoes to an extent Lady Blunt’s pose, forms a transition between the portrait of Lady Blunt and a subject composition appearing in 25, in which a similar figure appears. A second drawing of a standing female, in a different pose, is at bottom right. Finally, the slight sketch above the Blunt study might be related to Rinaldo abandoning Armida (see note on 6) though it is faint and difficult to read.
Page 25Drawings are upside down on this page. A new composition appears here. A standing female points her right arm towards a seated male. Two additional figures appear at the right. Three additional studies of the woman appear above. One of these, which is very faint, was drawn over by the artist as he made the composition study. The subject is presumably The Accusation of Susannah, a subject Romney also dealt with in a number of drawings in Courtauld Sketchbook No. 1. A seated man appears to the left in one of the Courtauld drawings though not in an identical pose to that here. In the Courtauld drawing, the emphatic curve and loose, approximating line used to depict Susannah contrasts with the more factual, darkly shaded method used here. In part, this is a product of the different media used: ink versus graphite. However, at the end of the 1760's Romney was developing a looser, freer style of drawing than had prevailed previously in his work. (See 24, 31, 92, and 99 for related drawings.)
Page 26This page contains only scribbles.
Page 27This entire page is given over to copies Romney made from various sources, remarkable in their range and variety. The blank eyes, straight nose and full lips of the face at top left earmark it as a copy of a classical head. Harshly illuminated from the lower right, the head is carefully presented with strong chiaroscuro.
Strong chiaroscuro effects were to become a hallmark of Romney’s late work. His son John comments on his propensity to use different sources of strong light in his dark studio to light the classical casts he acquired late in life. (Such methods were often employed in cast galleries to sharpen definition.) This head may well have been copied from a cast in the Duke of Richmond's sculpture gallery, perhaps from one of the ‘busts from unknown source’, among these a Juno, most likely a cast of the so-called Ludovisi Juno, in fact a representation of Antonia Minor, niece of Augustus. Alternatively, Romney could possibly have been working from a cast at the St. Martin's Lane Academy, which also had a few classical casts (see Ilaria Bignamini and Martin Postle, The Artist's Model: Its Role in British Art from Lely to Etty, exhibition catalogue, 1991 University Art Gallery, Nottingham, The Iveagh Bequest, Kenwood, 1991, cat. 4.)
The portrait roughly inscribed within an oval conveys the manner and staging of an Old Master. However, fitting this particular drawing into the history of portraiture is difficult: the clean shaven youth with drapery flung over his shoulder and possibly wearing a mazzocchio-type headdress suggests the Renaissance, yet the image does not fit easily into a Renaissance milieu as its oval format was rare in the Renaissance, when the tondo, i.e. round, shape was preferred. (Dosso Dossi did paint a number of oval portraits in Ferrara in the early 16th century, but this is anomalous). Full size oval portraits were not unknown in the 17th century and the oval became increasingly used for portrait miniatures though Romney seems unlikely to have been copying from a miniature. The figure's right hand rests on his upper breast. Although two studies of hands are found on this page, they do not mirror the hand in the portrait drawing. In their graceful expressiveness, the hands are reminiscent of the hand study in 1. Conceivably life studies, they could also have been copied from prints or even casts. The landscape study, with its looming foreground rocks, confusing middle ground features, distant mountain, and dark sky with strange cloud forms, does not suggest an actual landscape. Perhaps adapted from a print, it is a strange drawing indeed.
Page 28Four drawings on this page depict a man supporting a slumping woman. (In two of these she appears to be offering some resistance.) Three of the drawings suggest that the man wears a helmet, as will be made explicit in other drawings of this pair later in the sketchbook. Related drawings include 32, 38, 39, 40, 53, and 78. The subject is probably The Rape of Lucretia. Lucretia, the legendary Roman matron who committed suicide after her rape by Tarquin, son of the King of Rome, was the epitome of ‘Pudicitia’, i.e. modesty and sexual virtue. She provided a proper model for artists in an age in which chastity and fidelity were much prized as feminine virtues ensuring that only rightful heirs would inherit property in a landed economy. Richardson's novel Clarissa (1748) offered a Lucretia-like model in a young woman who, though she does not directly commit suicide after her rape by the villain Lovelace, pines away until she dies of guilt and remorse. Correspondingly, in the visual arts, norms of 18th-century portraiture provided ways of demonstrating feminine virtue and the position of women within a family, just as subject pictures could put forward models like Lucretia.
We know Romney was interested in the Lucretia theme from notations in his hand in Yale Sketchbook No. 7, in which he lists various ideas for subject pictures, among them ‘Lucrecia’. That sketchbook dates from the artist's stay in Italy, 1773-5, but it is clear that he had already dealt with the subject earlier, as is shown here. There are numerous related drawings in Truro Sketchbook No. 1 and Barrow Sketchbook No. 1. There is also one drawing on the subject in Louvre Sketchbook No. 2 (45). A very faint sketch between two of the Lucretia drawings may also depict this subject or, possibly, figures from the composition of Rinaldo abandoning Armida (see note on 6). Two additional drawings depict a seated woman. In the more detailed of these she wears a mob cap. A tiny sketch of a face appears above this figure’s head.
Page 29At top right is a landscape view of a three-arched bridge spanning a river. Through one of the arches one sees cattle and a two-mast boat with sails down. A building appears in the middle distance and hills rise up beyond. Faintly visible angled shapes in the foreground, left, suggest that the scene is observed from a height. Romney would have been able to observe such a view as this during his return visits to the north in 1765 or 1767. There are several three-arched stone bridges in Cumbria that could have provided a vista similar to this. Though added to or rebuilt since Romney's time, these include the Devil's bridge in Kirkby Lonsdale and the Nether and Miller bridges in Kendal. (Built in stone in 1743, the Miller Bridge was rebuilt in 1818.) Whether a craft the size of the one in the drawing could have navigated the local rivers, though, is questionable. Perhaps the boat is shown out of scale; otherwise, Romney could have been using a print as his source. However, since the scene appears on the same page as studies for a portrait painted during the artist's 1767 trip to the north, it does suggest that it might reflect an actual site. Romney's son John wrote of his father’s deep responsiveness to the beauty of his native Cumbria, with its ‘winding vales, and swelling eminences’. For information on Kendal in Romney's time, see John Satchell, ‘Romney's Kendal’ Transactions of the Romney Society vol. 4 (1999) pp. 18-28.
At the center of the page and below are four portrait studies of a woman and a child sitting (in one case standing) on a block-like support. These are most likely preliminary studies for Romney’s painting of Mrs. Edward Salisbury and Daughter, painted in Lancaster during the artist's trip to the north in 1767.
A sketch at the bottom left of the page may also be a portrait study. The woman descending a stairway bears a slight (probably coincidental) similarity to a figure descending stairs in 102. In this instance there is a faint suggestion of a second figure behind the woman. An oval shape in the crook of the figure's right arm is difficult to decipher. At the top left are two sketches of a seated nude and one of a standing woman.
Page 30At top left is a half-length portrait study of a woman placed in front of a curving wall topped by an urn. A flowing wrap with a wide edging opens to reveal the woman's dress. This drawing can be tied to Romney's portrait of Mrs. Wilbraham Bootle, c.1764. The figure’s left arm, which in the painting crosses her waist, is suggested here only by a gap in the shading of the cape. The wall topped by an urn as well as the landscape background appear in the completed painting. However, the hound, stroked by the sitter as it jumps at her side, a notable feature in the painting, is not in evidence here.
The sitter’s right hand does reach out, nonetheless, towards an unidentifiable object. (For other possible studies for this painting see 3 and 12 [bottom of page, upside down].)
Three drawings on the page are related to the kneeling woman seen first in 8, and are probably related to Romney's 1765 painting A lady’s head, in the character of a saint, three quarters. (See also 10 and 30.) In one of the drawings here, the figure sits rather than kneels. Two additional, possibly unrelated, drawings of seated women are at bottom left. At bottom right is a portrait study of a woman standing beside a child seated on a plinth. This echoes the drawings in 29. The awkward shading on the woman's drapery makes her right leg appear bare.
The four sketches (upside down at top right) of a man in vest, coat and breeches adopt a half-length pose loosely similar to that of Abraham Rawlinson, most likely painted in 1767. The figure’s air of casual aplomb suits a man of affairs. A faint unrelated sketch of a standing figure is next to these drawings.
Page 31A faint, undecipherable sketch is upside down at the top of the page. The other drawings on the page, also upside down, are related to one another. At mid-page, Romney has made a meticulous study from a model, producing an unusually detailed image. With a delicate line, he delineates the woman's long thin nose with its slight bump and her slightly opened mouth. Her complicated hairdo bound by a ribbon has been closely studied though the contemporary dress she wears is but lightly indicated. That this image haunted the artist is clear from its reappearance, in muted form, in later drawings (see 69 and 95). This figure’s pose and demeanor are echoed in the woman being closely contemplated by two men standing behind her. A lightly sketched figure is sprawled out in front of the standing woman, awkwardly fused with the other figures. (This figure is also seen in three, more distinct, studies at the left). That this man is meant to be included in the composition is made clear by comparison with the composition study in 25.
A woman with meekly lowered head accompanied by two old men naturally brings to mind The Accusation of Susannah, a story from the Apocrypha, in which a falsely accused, virtuous woman is delivered from her persecutors, thus demonstrating how the pure soul will be protected from peril. Various artists besides Romney were attracted to The Accusation of Susannah, among them Benjamin West, who chose it as the subject of one of his first history paintings. While the genesis of Romney's interest in The Accusation of Susannah would appear to be in the Kendal sketchbook, he was to pursue the subject in many drawings and at least one painting before and after his trip to Italy. As John Romney wrote: ‘The first time I saw Mr. Romney after his return from Italy, was in January, 1777, when I found him painting in the evening by lamplight. He was then engaged upon the subject of The Accusation of Susannah by the two Elders… This picture was never finished, owing probably to the difficulty and disagreeableness of painting by an artificial light. The figures were upon a small scale and numerous.’ Among the sketchbooks with drawings related to the subject are: Baroda No. 3; British Museum No. 1; Courtauld No 1; Royal Academy No 1; as well as the Holborn Library and Victoria & Albert Museum sketchbooks. There are also drawings in the Fitzwilliam, Princeton, and Yale collections. For related drawings in the Kendal Sketchbook, see 25, 92, and 99.
Page 32
At top right, upside down, is a male supporting a slumping woman (see note on 28). At bottom right, also upside down, is a running woman with flowing draperies. This figure may be related to the dancing figure at mid-page. (Dancing figures with cymbals can also be found in Abbot Hall Sketchbook No. 1.) A half-length of a woman, also at mid-page, calls to mind studies for A Lady’s head, in the character of a saint (see 8, 10, and 30). However, the woman's breasts may be too prominently emphasized to allow this drawing to be grouped with the others.
Page 33In landscape orientation are four studies of a nude male, his hands apparently bound behind him. This straining figure’s pose recalls that of Michelangelo’s Bound Slave, now in the Louvre. If that is the source of the motif, Romney would necessarily have studied the sculpture from a print since, at the time of Romney's visit to Paris with Thomas Greene in 1764, the Bound Slave was in Cardinal de Richelieu's chateau in Poitou. The fact that the drawing shows the figure in reverse further corroborates a print source. An unrelated drawing at upper right depicts a running female wearing a headdress, right hand outstretched and left hand grasping her skirt. This image might also reflect the influence of a print source.
Page 34The central image on this page depicts Romney’s composition for Rinaldo abandoning Armida, a subject first introduced in 6. In this version, a muscular boatman is shown from the back, along with other figures in the boat at the left. A second slight sketch of the central figure from this composition appears above.
Additional drawings appear upside down on the page. The most detailed of these depicts a striding female holding arrows in her right hand (see related figures in 64 and 35.) Here the female is accompanied by several additional figures. A second faint drawing on this subject appears at the top of the page. The goddess Diana has a bow and arrows as attributes. It is conceivable Romney might have considered staging a portrait with the sitter in the guise of Diana, much as Reynolds would do in his Duchess of Manchester Disarming Cupid, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1769.
The faint sketch of a seated figure at top left may be compared with a figure in a similar pose in three studies (in reverse) in 31. The final drawing on the page, a very faint sketch of a seated woman is upside down at top right.
Page 35A striding female at lower right (upside down) holds an object in her right hand – perhaps sticks or arrows as held by the female in 34. Two faint sketches at the top of this page introduce a new subject. They depict a standing, crowned king, who is seen more clearly in a composition drawing on the following page (36). Most of the remaining drawings on this page also appear to relate to that composition, with two exceptions, both upside down at the left. At mid-page is a very faint sketch of a female nude. The other drawing, which is cut off at the left margin, shows a figure from the back, perhaps accompanied by a dog, and part of another figure. The drawing appears to be related to a composition drawing in 12.
Page 36Figure studies seen in 35 come into better focus here as a full composition for a subject painting. Within an expansive interior, a crowned king stands astride two stairs. A seated woman, presumably the queen, sits to the left of the king. Many courtiers are also present, including two figures kneeling at the feet of the king and an infant clutching the king's leg. At first glance, it would be tempting to interpret this as The Judgment of Solomon. However, one of the figures kneeling before the king appears to be male (see also 37). Thus, an alternate interpretation presents itself: that it shows an episode in the Perseus and Andromeda legend, a mythological subject that Romney focuses on in many drawings in this album (see note on 50 and related drawings.) This particular composition may depict the confrontation of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia with Phineus, who had been Andromeda's betrothed before Perseus arrived to rescue and subsequently marry her. Two figure studies for this composition appear below the larger drawing. If this interpretation is correct, it would represent the second instance in this sketchbook where Romney illustrates two episodes from the same story (as he did with Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata). At the bottom of the page are two portrait studies of a seated woman with two children. These are closely related to drawings in 7.
Page 37At top, portions of the composition in 36 are studied. The powerful anatomy of the kneeling male is notable. At the center of the page, two faint sketches of a standing figure, right leg bent, may or may not relate to this composition. Below is a faint drawing of a half-draped female seen from behind, with indications of a second figure to the right and possibly putti to the left (though these are very difficult to decipher). Too vague to be confidently identified, this could possibly be related either to Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s Enchanted Garden or The Toilet of Venus.
Page 38All the drawings are upside down on the page. The large figure within a landscape setting relates to three studies in 19, possibly an interpretation by Romney of Terpsichore by Le Sueur. The figure's unusual striped gown has a wide square neck. The chiaroscuro rendering of the drapery covering the lower half of the woman's body highlights the right knee and left thigh. However, the proportions of this figure are elongated and the knee is far too low on the body. The method of developing the drapery shapes at the right side of the drawing is curiously abstract and incremental, meaning the drapery folds are not combined convincingly. Vegetation is studied in some detail at lower right. This drawing can be compared with similar drawings in Abbot Hall Sketchbook No. l.
A drawing of a woman in a flowing headdress holding a staff in her left hand appears upside down at the top of the page. A seascape opens up behind, within which one can make out a tiny ship with billowing sails and a spiraling plume of smoke rising in the far distance. Other forms in the background are difficult to read though architectural forms appear to line the shore. On page 43, this same figure appears again, along with a seated female resting her arm on an urn. In that instance, the drawing suggests a portrait study, one related to Two Sisters contemplating on Mortality. This seems to be a case where a portrait study elides into an idea for a subject painting.
Three additional drawings are at the top of the page. Two depict standing women; one of these, with flowing drapery, is probably a dancer. The third drawing shows standing man supporting a slumping woman, a subject introduced in 28, though here reversed (see other examples in 32, 39, 40, 53, and 78).
Page 39All the drawings on this page are upside down. Three drawings (one very faint) depict a man supporting a slumping woman, as in 28, 32, 38, 40, 53, and 78. In one of the drawings, the male’s plumed helmet marks him definitively as a Roman. At the center of the page are two small studies of faces. One suggests a male, most likely the helmeted male just mentioned. (It is remarkable how adeptly the helmeted man's tiny face conveys these same features.) The other facial study, curiously, presents a slighter version of the woman shown with such clarity and detail at the center of the page in 31. The sequencing of these two female images is tantalizing; were both drawn from life at the same time? Why do they appear eight pages apart?
Eight additional drawings, varying in clarity, depict seated and standing figures. Three of these drawings, showing two women standing together, may be related to Romney’s painting of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. These can be compared to figures in 43. There, one of the women points at a sculpted relief, a clear connection to the theme of mortality. Two of the eight drawings depict a woman with an upraised left arm. This figure can be compared with one in a drawing in 7.
Page 40At the top of the page, upside-down, is a portrait study of two seated females in a landscape. One holds a stringed instrument, possibly a citern or mandolin. One of the figures appears to have an open book in her lap, perhaps a musical score. However, the resolution of the two figures is confusing, making it difficult to tell whose body is whose. A different treatment of this subject can be seen in 64. Though two females are represented, it would be difficult to see this grouping as a variant composition for Romney’s Two Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. The portrait's theme may instead be the Arts.
Below this portrait study is a man's face, turned offprofile and viewed slightly from above. This same face, in less detailed form, first appeared at the center of 39, upside down. As there, this is presumably the face of the man in a plumed helmet supporting a slumping woman, a study for which appears below this face. Opposite these two drawings, in landscape orientation, are dancing figures. This group is somewhat similar to dancers at the left in 41. See additional dancers in 17, 44, 72, and 76. A sketch of two women, upside down at bottom left echoes one of the pairs in 39. Next to this pair is a slight sketch of a woman who appears to be collapsing. Though reminiscent of a similar figure in 15, there is nevertheless no compelling reason to connect this image with that one.
Page 41A group of dancing figures occupies much of this page. One figure holds a triangle and another a tambourine. The graphite images are touched up in places with ink. These figures are most likely related to Romney's painting of Mirth, on which he was engaged in 1769. In that painting, the figure of Mirth holds a tambourine while a figure in the background holds aloft a triangle. The dancer at the right impinges upon a separate drawing, which depicts a standing figure with widespread legs. Another standing figure unrelated to the dancers is seen to the right. For other drawings with dancers see 17, 40, 44, 72, and 76.
Page 42Four drawings of a seated female nude (in two instances shown with another figure and with suggestions of a mirror) relate to the subject of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see note on 22). In one of the drawings putti are included. At bottom right is a seated, partially nude female with upraised arms. Two additional drawings, one very faint, depict this same figure. A standing figure is superimposed over the faintest of these drawings.
The striding female upside down at top right is similar to a figure appearing in composition studies in 38 and 43, though in these instances no staff is visible in her left hand. (See also related figures in 34 and 35.)
To the left of the striding female, also upside down, are five sketches, some very slight, of a seated woman. In the most readable of these, the woman's left arm appears to rest on an urn, as does that of a similar figure in the composition in 43 in which the striding woman appears. For other drawings in which a woman rests her arm on an urn see 7, 21, 45, 51, and 98.
Page 43The drawing upside down at top left shows two females standing before a pedestal topped with an urn, presumably a grave monument. One of the two figures points her left arm towards a raised relief on the front of the monument (see two figures in similar poses in a drawing in 39). This is presumably a preliminary trial for Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 23.) The drawing next to this likewise depicts two females, one of them with her left hand atop an urn, an obvious symbol of mortality. Therefore, this would also seem to be an idea for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality even though the second figure holds a staff, not an attribute commonly associated with the mortality theme. For other drawings in which this seated woman with an urn appears, see 7, 21, 4 5, and 51. Drawings that show the second figure holding a staff include 7, 47, 51, and 52.
A drawing upside down at the bottom of the page shows a female holding a large book. If this is meant to refer to The Book of Life, in which the names of those who will live forever are recorded, it provides another appropriate prop for a painting on the theme of mortality. For analogous drawings of a female holding a large book see 80 and 81. A large drawing of a seated woman appears in landscape orientation at the center of the page. The final drawing on the page depicts a standing female in a landscape, probably a portrait study.
Page 44Drawings of dancers, some with musical instruments, fill this page. Some images are upside down; others are in landscape orientation. As in 40, a tambourine is held aloft by some of the dancers, suggesting a connection to Romney’s painting of Mirth, on which the artist was engaged in 1769. For other groups of dancers see 17, 40, 41, 72, and 76.
Page 45At the top of the sheet, upside-down, is a drawing in a slightly flattened oval format; a woman and an infant recline at the left; to the right, an awkwardly posed figure, looking back towards the reclining woman, rushes away. Rays from the sun fan out into the sky in the middle distance. A semi-nude in flowing drapery flies through the air. Above this figure, faint lines suggest additional figures and/or clouds. This may represent Eos, i.e. Aurora, rosy-fingered goddess of the dawn who rose each morning from the river Oceanus to separate Night from Day. The inspiration is presumably an allegorical painting, perhaps one the artist saw on his trip to Paris in 1764. The unusual format suggests this may be a copy or a recollection of a painting used for wall or ceiling decoration.
A detailed, densely-shaded portrait study of two seated females, one resting her arms on an oval-shaped urn, appears on the lower half of the page. This drawing is the most finished of a group of related drawings (see also 7, 21, 43, and 51). As the urn has an obvious reference to mortality, this presumably represents an alternate staging for Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality.
An additional slight half-length sketch of a standing woman is to the left.
Page 46At right center are studies of seated females. The two at the left suggest the poses of the two sisters in 45. Upsidedown, below these figures, is a drawing of a woman in a chariot, amidst clouds above and below. The composition conforms to an oval shape, similar to that of the drawing on the previous page. If these share an allegorical theme, this could be Aurora, goddess of the dawn, this time depicted in her chariot, which was a favorite subject of Baroque artists. Romney was drawn to the work of Baroque artists of the 17th century, as recorded in the journal Thomas Greene kept of his and Romney's journey to Paris in 1764.
Page 47The composition marked out at the bottom of the page depicts two seated females. In the relaxed ease of its poses and plethora of rustling silks, it signals an attempt at portraiture in the Grand Manner. Reinforcing its seriousness of purpose is the imposing urn-topped structure, presumably a grave monument, towards which the sitters gaze. The direct allusion to mortality brings the conclusion that this is one of a number of ideas Romney tried out while working on Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. A different version of this idea, where the figures also contemplate a grave monument, can be seen in 43. For a detailed drawing with figures in analogous poses accompanied by symbols of mortality, see 45.
Above this, a less detailed drawing depicts two women in somewhat similar poses. Here, however, one of the figures holds a staff in an upraised arm. (The arm is shown in alternate renderings.) The same figure is seen in a second drawing, now placed to the right of the second figure. Here, the staff suggests a distaff. (Curiously, a distaff-holding figure will elide into a composition on an entirely different subject in 48). For related drawings, in which one of the figures holds a staff, see 7, 43, 51, and 52. The slight figure study of a seated female is probably related to these drawings.
Upside down on the page is a drawing of two seated figures, one apparently holding a mirror. This connects the image to depictions of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see note on 22). The two infants nearby also probably relate to this composition.
Page 48A sketch at the bottom left recalls a similar couple in 47, a depiction of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden. Here, however, the mirror is only faintly suggested. A study of a reclining female nude is adjacent to this drawing. Above these drawings, upside down on the page, are two additional depictions of a male and female, now given entirely different attributes and identities. It was common for Romney to reuse and alter figural arrangements as he moved amongst a variety of subjects in his sketchbooks. That is evident on this page. In the composition demarcated by lines, a shepherd plays his syrinx; his flock of sheep is suggested to the left. His female companion, lightly clad, holds a distaff, yam, and spindle. Such bucolic scenes were popular in the 18th century, particularly amongst French artists such as Boucher. Many such scenes derive ultimately from Daphnis and Chloe, a romance by the Greek writer Longus, assumed to have lived in the 2nd century A.D. The sunburst on the horizon in this drawing echoes a similar motif in an oval drawing in 45. Perhaps both drawings were inspired by a cycle of paintings Romney saw in Paris in 1764.
In John Romney’s list of his father's ‘Pictorial Designs and Studies’, which John Romney gave to Cambridge University in 1817, three of the designs, as he wrote in his memoir of his father, ‘are taken from the pastoral romance of Longus. It was the intention of Mr. Romney to have painted two pictures of the size of life, of which these were the studies.’ There are sketches on the subject in Truro Sketchbook No. 1 (8, 9) and RA Sketchbook No. 2 (4, 4v, 5, 5v, 6v, 7, 8, 8v, 9, 34v, and possibly additional ones). Interestingly, in the RA sketchbook, the drawings of Daphnis and Chloe are immediately followed by drawings of Rinaldo and Armida. This shows the same fusion of subject matter that takes place here. For another treatment of this subject, see 49. A faint sketch of a woman's torso appears upside down at center right.
Page 49At the bottom left is a drawing related to Rinaldo and Armida in Armida's Enchanted Garden. In the upper part of the page, upside down, are two studies of figures from the pastoral composition in 48. The remaining drawings on this sheet are studies of figures in a variety of poses. The lumpish figures at mid-page contrast strongly with the slender figures below.
Page 50Five drawings on this page are related to the subject of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida's enchanted Garden (see note on 22).
The composition drawing at center left represents Perseus Freeing Andromeda, a subject that Romney pursued in a large number of drawings in this sketchbook. A drawing of a nude female in 22 may be the first drawing on the theme; the rest are clustered together on this page and pages following (see 51-63). It is unusual in this sketchbook to find drawings on the same subject so closely concentrated. The basic composition depicts a bound nude woman being rescued by a man in classical apparel. In some drawings, as here, additional figures appear. These are presumably Cepheus, Andromeda’s grateful father, and an attendant. Cepheus, in Greek legend, was king of Ethiopia. His queen, Cassiopeia, had boasted that her beauty was equal to that of the Nereids. This drew a swift response from Poseidon, who flooded the land and let loose a sea serpent, which ravaged the kingdom. The oracle of Zeus proclaimed that no relief could be hoped for until the king exposed his daughter to the sea monster. Thus Andromeda was fastened to a rock on the shore. When Perseus appeared, he slew the monster and subsequently married Andromeda although she had previously been betrothed to her uncle Phineas. (For drawings that may relate to another phase of the Perseus and Andromeda legend, see 35, 36, and 37.)
Page 51At the top of the page is a study for Perseus Freeing Andromeda (see 50). Here, Perseus as well as the background to the right have been filled in and shaded. At bottom left is a figure study of Perseus and Andromeda. At mid-page is a reclining female, which echoes those in 50. At top left is a sketch too faint to decipher.
At bottom right is a portrait study of two females in a landscape setting. The right arm of the seated woman rests atop an oval urn, a symbol of mortality; the standing figure holds a staff. Compare this to drawings in 7, 21, 43, 45, 47, 51, 52, and 104. Romney is either experimenting here with a variant composition for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality or exploring a concept for a different double portrait.
Page 52Two drawings of a pair of women at the center of the page are probably related to Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 23). The figures stand side by side as in the painting, although here they are shown fulllength. Below these drawings is a composition marked off on the page showing figures in a landscape setting. One figure sits; the second stands, holding a staff. (A figure in a similar pose, also holding a staff, appears in 38.) A very faint, indeed scarcely visible, sketch of the same composition appears at upper left. This is echoed in an equally slight drawing upside down at top right in 89.
A faint drawing at top right depicts a seated nude, possibly Andromeda (see similar drawings in 54). The final drawing on the page shows a seated man, perhaps holding a staff, accompanied by a kneeling woman.
Page 53Two drawings at the bottom of the page and one at the top depict Perseus Freeing Andromeda. Here, Andromeda is seated, thrusting backwards, rather than standing as she is in 50 and 51. Perseus rests his right knee on a rock. A faint sketch just below the middle of the page also depicts Andromeda. At mid-page right is a drawing of a man struggling with a woman, which harks back to figure studies in 28, 32, 38, 39 and 40, as well as 78. With magnification, the scramble of lines to the right of the pair can be seen to represent horsemen brandishing shields, i.e. a battle scene. This subject probably relates to Tarquin and Lucretia, a subject from Roman history. Unlike other of Romney’s drawings of this pair in the sketchbook, this particular one depicts Lucretia as very much alive and struggling with her attacker. Her fist is clenched, and a faint line may suggest her dagger. (Subsequent to her rape by Tarquin, Lucretia committed suicide by stabbing herself.) Barrow Sketchbook No. 1 has similar drawings of a woman struggling with a man, in which the dagger is visible (63, 69, 77) as well as drawings which show her slumping in his arms (66,73,79).
This page includes five detailed facial studies. The topmost one shows a thoughtful woman in near profile, her chin and the lower part of her face darkly shaded. This drawing appears unrelated to other drawings on the page. Behind this drawing, another profile has been scratched out. Below is a closely observed face of a woman with upturned eyes and slightly open mouth. This mouth is studied in two additional drawings. It is quite possible these three drawings are studies for Andromeda.
Page 54This page has eight studies of Andromeda in a seated pose, as in 53. In one of the drawings, the figure of Perseus is shown.
Page 55All the drawings on this page depict Perseus Freeing Andromeda. At the bottom of the page, within a rectangle marked off by lines, the subject is shown in some detail. Andromeda is seated on rocks, her bound arms raised above her head. In contrast to similar studies in 53 as well as here, Perseus appears to the left of Andromeda. All parts of the composition study are filled with shading to indicate rocks, sea, mountains, and sky. One of the drawings contains an alternate study for Perseus and shows Andromeda standing rather than sitting.
Page 56Five studies of the nude Andromeda appear at the bottom. At the top are two of Andromeda with Perseus. In one, Perseus is at the right of Andromeda; in the other he is on the left. The artist is actively experimenting with elements of his composition.
Page 57 A detailed drawing on the lower half of this page explores the composition of Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The composition is reversed from its initial configuration in 50 and 51. Here, Perseus is at the left; the bearded, crowned King and a kneeling figure are shown to the right. Andromeda is shown in a pose intermediate. between sitting and standing. This is the most detailed composition for the subject seen thus far in the sketchbook. However, there is a discordant element in that Andromeda's head is unnaturally small in relation to her arms.
A less detailed version of the subject is at the top. Three additional figures are indicated to the right. Two slight studies of Andromeda appear above mid-page, both of them infringed upon by adjacent drawings. The final drawing, upside-down on the page, is unrelated to Perseus and Andromeda. It depicts a young woman sporting an unusual hairdo, which is piled high at the sides and parted in the center.
Page 58Two drawings for Perseus Freeing Andromeda echo the compositional scheme in 57, though here Andromeda's right leg supports her weight. In the study at the top of the page, upside down, the king and the kneeling figure have been joined by additional figures. Two additional sketches of Andromeda appear on the page.
Page 59Three drawings, upside down on the page, plus a very faint additional sketch of Andromeda, relate to Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The composition includes a kneeling figure to the right; plus, in one case, additional figures. In the drawing at the bottom of the page, the figure of the king is cut off at the margin. In two of the drawings, Andromeda’s right arm is upraised, still bound, while her left one is held by the kneeling figure. This differs from a number of earlier drawings in the series, which show her with both arms bound. In these drawings, as in 58, Andromeda stands erect. In the drawing topmost on the page, viewed right side up, a form to the left of Perseus may give a faint suggestion of the vanquished dragon, with its lolling tongue, staring eye, and arching brow.
Page 60Three drawings, upside-down, are all studies for Perseus Freeing Andromeda. In one of these, figures to the right of the couple can be discerned (compare with 57).
Page 61All five drawings on this page, only two of them right side up, are related to the subject of Perseus Freeing Andromeda. In two of the drawings, Andromeda is unnaturally small in relation to Perseus. One very faint sketch depicts the kneeling figure seen in earlier drawings of the composition (see 57). Another very faint sketch at bottom left shows the outspread arms of the king and gives a suggestion of his body.
Page 62This page has eight sketches, of varying clarity, relating to the subject of Perseus Freeing Andromeda (see note on 50). The drawing upside down at top right is unusual in that, for the first time, Andromeda is drawn from the back. Three additional figure studies, two of them adopting this same pose, are nearby. At mid-page are two sketches of the kneeling figure, seen more clearly in 57, as well as very slight sketches of the king and, possibly, Andromeda.
While Romney continues to explore the Perseus and Andromeda theme here, his concentration on this subject is beginning to waver. For example, a drawing at mid-page right is a portrait study of two seated females (compare with 47). The subject matter of three other drawings at the bottom of the page is elusive. One is too faint to decipher; a second shows a seated couple; a third depicts a standing woman, possibly holding a tambourine. This last could be a preliminary study for Mirth, a painting Romney was working on in 1769. It fits in generically with other drawings of dancers in the sketchbook (see, for example, 44).
Page 63
The nine drawings on this page mix together ideas for subject pictures and portrait studies, as was common with Romney. At lower left is the final drawing in the sketchbook depicting Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The poses are similar to those first adopted in 53. Above this drawing is a study for Romney s Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, depicted here full-length. This drawing, with shading employed on costume and background, is more fully worked up than other similar drawings in the sketchbook (see 23, 73, 75, 77, 88, 100 and 102). At the top of the page, is a study for Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see note on 22). A second, less detailed, study for this subject as well as a partial figure study of Armida appear below midpage. Below mid-page at right is a highly anomalous but very interesting tiny sketch. It depicts the face, neck and shoulder of a man with tousled curls, whose most striking characteristic is a long, tapering moustache. His large eyes give him a piercing gaze. The moustache is one Nicholas Hilliard could have sported at the court of Elizabeth I, or that of a late 19th-century dandy, but it seems wholly out of context in the 18th century. How this singular image found its way into the sketchbook is curious, to say the least. It would be tempting to suspect the intervention of another hand but difficult to imagine how and when such could have occurred. Perhaps this is instead a fleeting image garnered from a print. Sketches of a striding figure, a seated couple, and a seated woman complete the drawings on the page.
Page 64The female playing a stringed instrument in a drawing at top left echoes a similar figure in 40. In both of these compositions, a second female is depicted with a large book, perhaps a musical score. In this instance the book is supported on a pedestal. Below this group is a standing woman in contrapposto holding what appears to be a bow (see a similar figure, combined with additional figures, in 34). To the right is another standing female whose ample breasts and bulging belly suggest pregnancy; however, this may simply result from an awkward rendering of the image.
Three drawings at the bottom depict a man seizing a woman and raising her off the ground. The profusion of rushing lines gives an energy and immediacy to the sketches. A violent scene of abduction, this brings to mind The Rape of the Sabine Women as sculpted by Giambologna and painted by Poussin and others, which Romney would no doubt have known through prints. At the same time, one of Poussin’s two versions of the Rape of the Sabine Women was in the Royal Collections in Paris, where Romney might have familiarized himself with the subject. In addition, the Duke of Richmond's cast gallery had figures and a relief relating to Giambologna's sculpture, which Romney would have seen. Four drawings upside down on the page are also related to this tumultuous subject, and additional related drawings can be seen in 65, 66, and 67. These struggling figures in violent action are very different in character from somewhat analogous drawings in the sketchbook showing a man supporting a slumping woman, e.g. 2 and others. Romney was fully capable of adapting similar poses to very different subjects in a continuous evolution of motifs.
Page 65Five drawings of figures in violent action suggest the Rape of the Sabine Women (see also 64, 66, and 67). The couple seen in three drawings at the bottom of 64 is now included within a larger group. The profusion of jumbled lines here, however, does not convey the figures as skillfully as the drawings in 64, which must have been done with a closer eye on the artist's source. Romney has had problems integrating the struggling couple into a larger group. Two additional sketches of seated figures on the page are unrelated to the Rape of the Sabine Women theme.
Page 66
In addition to two drawings of the Rape of the Sabine Women, this page has three studies of a carefully shaded female head (the largest drawn over the upper part of a male nude). These are presumably studies for the head of the woman being abducted in the drawing to the right. Though the woman's calm, resigned expression seems unsuited to expressing the agony of a potential rape victim, it conveys something of the stoic resolve of Poussin’s classical manner. Similar facial expressions on faces of the rape victims in Poussin’s Louvre version of the Rape of the Sabine Women may mark that painting (or a print of the same) as the source here. See additional drawings related to the Rape of the Sabine Women, in 64, 65, and 67. Elegantly calligraphic S-shaped curves are employed to strike out faint images at the right.
Page 67Two drawings with numerous figures as well as three additional figure studies are related to the Rape of the Sabine Women. As in drawings on this subject in 65 and 66, Romney has not been completely successful here in conveying the actions of the energetic couples originally presented in 64, where violent physical movements were so vividly portrayed.
Page 68Romney's concentration on violent scenes of abduction and rape comes to an abrupt stop here, with the artist providing a complete change of pace. A single large landscape drawing, presented sideways, fills this page. This landscape is simple in its elements: A dark sea laps against an indented shore. A large, sloping hill rises up at the right. From a dark sky filled with billowing clouds, slanted lines strike the hill, suggesting rain. This view was recently identified as Whitbarrow Scar from Levens village, Kendal. Though the artist's focus was seldom on landscapes as such, except as backgrounds for his portraits, Romney was highly sensitive to the grandeur of nature. His vivid description of the landscape he encountered on an excursion to the Isle of Wight demonstrates this: ‘The sudden appearance of the sea, and rocky scenery struck me more forcibly than anything of the kind, I had ever seen before’ (letter quoted in William Hayley’s life of Romney, p. 217).
Page 69Two drawings in opposite orientation to one another depict the same composition, showing three figures in a landscape; a figure to the left, resting its right arm on a pier (or a club?) and supporting its chin, looks towards two standing women to the right, one of whom points to the sky, where (in one of the drawings) a figure, or figures, appear amidst clouds. In the background of the second drawing, a group of dancing figures appears.
At the top of the page, upside down, a standing figure viewed from the back is probably also related to this composition. The subject is plausibly The Choice of Hercules. The pensive Hercules (though it is difficult to make out his club amidst the draperies) looks towards Virtue and Vice, each of whom tries to tempt him to follow her lead. Vice points towards the dancers and the enticements of worldly pleasure. Virtue, on the other hand, points towards the heavens, and the promised luster of lasting glory to be achieved through great deeds. This subject, which derives from Xenophon’s Memorabilia, was earlier depicted by Carracci, Poussin, and many others. Sir Joshua Reynolds employed the allegory in staging his humorous rendering of Garrick between Tragedy and Comedy, which was exhibited in 1762 at the Society of Artists and which Romney would surely have known. In this instance, the artist plays it straight, employing the subject in its usual allegorical guise rather than using it as a conceit for staging a portrait. Benjamin West did the same in his 1764 painting of The Choice of Hercules between Virtue and Pleasure (Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 40-1886).
A different subject is featured upside down at the top of the page in a drawing depicting a reclining couple in a landscape setting. It has some similarity to a composition in 46 and 48 though poses and attributes of the couple differ. Additional figures, perhaps putti, are at the right. (A line marking the left border of this composition crosses over another faint image of the seated woman.)
A final drawing on this page appears upside down at center left. Though minuscule, the face of this woman is surprisingly explicit. It is reminiscent of the larger and more detailed study of a female in 31 though here the nose is a straight line and the protruding upper lip is not in evidence, giving the figure a more classical impersonality. The modest contemporary dress of the figure in 31 has become soft drapery which clings to, when it doesn't directly expose, the woman's breasts. This small, incisive drawing is presumably intended as a study for the central figure in the composition next to it. As is often the case in Romney's drawings, certain images, e.g. that seen in 31, adumbrate later ones. Motifs and specific images are set down by the artist within new settings as his creativity courses through his sketchbooks. A remembered type, studied from a model that made a strong impression on the artist, appears again, separated by many pages from its first appearance (see also 95).
Page 70This page contains five graphite studies of women. One of the figures in the center is depicted descending stairs, the same staging seen, for example, in 72 and 102. The poses used in these figures at the center of the page create types that the artist used in such portraits as Mrs. Thomas Scott Jack son and Mrs. Henry Verelst. A sixth drawing, upside down at the bottom of the page uses red chalk as the medium. It depicts a seated woman whose bent leg rests on a block-like support.
Page 71Drawings appear on this page in a mixture of orientations. Beneath an unintelligible scribble at the top of the page are four drawings of reclining figures. One is female; the other three are male. The next drawings amidst this grab bag of images are two studies of elderly bearded men, one of whom appears to support a large book on his knee. This figure may possibly be related to a similar figure, in reverse, in the lunette in 78. The second male figure, set off within a rectangle, looks upward and supports his head with his left hand. Three dancers with billowing draperies come next. The central dancer is particularized by her dress, in a manner unusual in this sketchbook. Her Greek chiton suggests the influence of a classical or Quattrocento source. The final three drawings are of a kneeling figure and two standing nudes. One of them supports draperies with an upraised arm. One wonders if these could be sketches the artist set down as he pored over his collection of prints.
Page 72A large, but sketchy drawing of dancing figures appears upside down on the upper half of the page. These suggest the dancers in the bacchanalian relief seen in the background of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 73). The possibility that this drawing is related to that painting is strengthened by the appearance on this page of other sketches with a more obvious connection. Below, in a rectangular format, is a fulllength portrait study of two women, one descending stairs. Another study for these figures appears at bottom right; and see also drawings in 73, and 77. In this composition, one female faces the other and points a finger at her.
Page 73Drawings of two striding females, which began in 23, continue here and in the following: 74, 75, 77, 88, 89, 91, 100, 102 and 103. All may be connected to Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. Most of the drawings depict full-length figures instead of the half-length ones the artist opted for in the finished painting.
The other three drawings on the page should be compared with the composition drawing of two females in 72. This is a possible variant of the Two Sisters composition, one in which the two women face each other. Two of the sketches here suggest that a third figure is present; however, this is probably an alternate rendering of the figure to the left. Romney apparently experimented with a number of different compositional arrangements in staging his portrait of these two sisters.
Page 74The composition marked out within a rectangle can presumably be tied to drawings for Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden though the ungainly shape the male reaches towards does not much resemble a mirror and his face is not directed towards the female's. At the left side, this drawing impinges upon a sketch of a male standing with legs apart.
At the bottom of the page are two pairs of striding figures. In this case it is more of a stretch to connect them to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. It is doubtful that the half-draped figure in the center is connected to the other figures, but, in any case, the whole group of drawings presents a puzzle. A faint sketch of a seated woman in profile at bottom center is impinged upon by the drawing to its right.
Page 75The three figures towards the top of the page depict Rinaldo and his companions from Rinaldo abandoning Armida (see note on 6 and also 20 23, 34, 80, 81, 93, and possibly 24). Drawings on this subject are widely spaced in the sketchbook. Clearly, it was a topic that obsessed the artist and which he kept returning to. Besides Rinaldo and Armida, Romney may have dealt with other lovers featured in Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata. For example, a drawing from a later period apparently depicting Tancred and Erminia is in the Detroit Institute of Arts (see Jean Wallis, ‘The Mind and Soul of Romney's Art and the Poussin Connection’ Transactions of the Romney Society, Vol. 4, 1999). The drawing of two standing women suggests the poses of the women in 72. A slight drawing of a seated woman in profile is to the right. Compare this to a drawing at bottom center in 63.
Page 76Several sketches, some very faint, depict dancing figures with flowing draperies. As with 72, it is possible these are preparatory sketches for the bacchanalian relief in Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see other drawings of dancers in 17, 40, 41 and 44). Aimless, meandering scribbles appear above mid-page.
Page 77Three drawings of a pair of females here reflect the poses of the figures in the composition in 72, in which the figures stand on a stairway and the two figures face each other. As there, the woman to the left points her index finger at the second woman. In the two drawings at the bottom of the page, however, both women appear less confrontational as they progress together. Their poses have some similarity to those in Romney's painting of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality as seen in the Robert Dunkarton mezzotint (see 23). In the center of the page is a seated figure, leaning back, right arm extended.
Page 78Drawings appear upside down and sideways on the page. Two depict the helmeted man and slumping woman seen in many earlier drawings (see 28, 32, 38, 39, 40 and 53). In this instance, the woman's collapse is more pronounced as she bends straight back from the waist, insensate or perhaps even dead. Barrow Sketchbook No. 1 has numerous pen and ink drawings on this subject, and there are drawings also in Truro Sketchbook No. 1 (see specifically 22v).
Within a lunette at the left of the page, in landscape orientation, is an entirely new subject. Lightly sketched putti appear to the left. Next comes a seated figure wearing a gown and helmet. She supports a shield with her right hand and the staff of a flag with her left. That this figure is plausibly Athena is strengthened by the presence of a roundel on her bosom, presumably the roundel of Medusa, which is traditionally featured on the goddess’s aegis. Athena leans against a lightly sketched oval form that, although very faint, suggests a framed landscape. Behind this, a pedestal topped by a sculpture separates the Athena figure from a bulky, bearded male holding a large book or tablet. At this figure's knee, a putto, viewed from behind, stands cross-legged as he turns a globe resting on a square support. A second sketch of this putto appears above. This is an evolved allegorical composition, which Romney presumably copied from a source, perhaps one in Paris. Upside down at the top of the page is a group of four figures which may or may not belong together. The intended subject has not been identified.
Page 79Upside-down at the center of the page are two forceful drapery studies of the lower portion of a figure, suggesting Terpsichore (see note on 19. There is a faint suggestion of a triangle suspended from the figure's left hand; see also 16 and 38). The heavy hatching of the drapery is meant to model the figure but is unsystematic since the source of light is imperfectly indicated. A
drawing of a standing woman appears at the bottom of the page.
Page 80Upside down and covering the top half of this sheet is a composition depicting a reluctant male being urged towards a boat by two companions. He gazes behind him up in the body of a supine female with raised right leg. This depicts Rinaldo abandoning Armida. This subject is depicted in a number of drawings spread widely through the sketchbook (see also 6, 20, 23, 34, 75, 81, 93 and, possibly, 24). Romney was random in his approach, and the sequencing of drawings within this sketchbook is no guarantee as to when each was made. This drawing is no more complete or detailed than any of the earlier treatments of the theme, and less so than some. At the bottom of the page are four sketches of females one carrying a closed, another an open, book (see also 43 and 81.)
Page 81At lower left is the same female carrying a large book we saw in 80 (see also 43). Also repeated from 80, in reverse, is Rinaldo abandoning Armida. Here, the woman is hugely out of scale with the figures heading towards the boat. The boat and its boatmen are visible at the right. Two additional, very faint, sketches of figures related to this composition appear above and to the left of the composition drawing.
Page 82At top right is a composition drawing for The Warren Family which Romney completed by the end of April 1769. Though the composition here is close to that in the completed painting (see also a drawing in 96), it is clear that Romney is still experimenting with the poses of the figures, as a drawing of these same three figures at bottom right attests. If three faint drawings on this page of a seated man and woman are also related to the The Warren Family, they would be the only ones in this sketchbook which show both father and mother seated. However, given their similarity to drawings in 83, they probably represent a different subject.
To the left side of the page, in landscape orientation, are three drawings of Danae. Great care is taken in the modeling of the nude figure. This is the first time Romney has dealt with this subject in the sketchbook. The most detailed of these drawings shows the figure leaning back against rolled pillows and extending her left arm towards the golden shower (not indicated here). At this stage of Romney’s career, drawings of female nudes must be assumed to be derived from sculptures, paintings, or prints and to be intended for inclusion in subject paintings. Later, when in Rome, the artist would study the nude from life.
Page 83This sheet depicts subjects seen in 82. Once again, the bifurcation of subject matter mirrors Romney's dilemma: his need to paint portraits to earn his daily bread despite his determination to excel in the higher category of history painting.
The two portrait studies at the top of the page depict the same two seated figures that appear in three sketches in 82. At mid-page, in landscape orientation, the Danae figure seen in 82 appears in a composition set off within lines. In this instance, a cloud above the nude figure indicates the golden shower in which Zeus appeared to Danae. The figure with outspread arms at the left provides a particularly energetic interpretation of Danae's attendant. Jean-Baptiste Greuze gave an equally prominent focus to the handmaiden in an unfinished painting now in the Louvre (M.1.1068), which dates from 1760-70. In that painting the composition is reversed, with the attendant standing at the right, in front of the goddess's couch. Romney dined with Greuze during his visit to Paris in 1790, and it is also possible he met the artist during his visit to Paris with Thomas Greene in 1764, when he could have seen and been inspired by Greuze's interpretation of this subject.
Page 84In contrast to the lunette drawing in 78, the subject in this particular lunette can be identified. The drawing depicts Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see 22). Romney was either copying a work he saw in the same format or is designing his own composition for placement within a lunette. The latter seems unlikely as Romney was at no stage in his career hired as a painter of decorative interiors. Therefore, it is intriguing that he used the lunette framework for a number of drawings in succession. This drawing captures the intent of Tasso's verse; the seated Armida looks towards the mirror as the enthralled Rinaldo gazes into Armida's face (his left arm is studied twice). In contrast, the drawing to the right of this one, also in landscape orientation, places Rinaldo beneath Armida in a position from which it would be difficult to stare upwards into her face. However, this drawing reflects Domenichino's rendering of the subject. Two studies of Rinaldo appear beneath this drawing.
The remaining drawings, if viewed in landscape orientation, present a series of three images cascading down the page. Seen together they give a dramatic illustration of Romney's tendency to make split-second elisions from one subject to another. The first drawing suggests Venus, seen from the back, straining to restrain Adonis from leaving on the hunt; there is even a suggestion of Adonis' spear (see Romney's copy of Titian's painting in 16). A second similar drawing, in which the Adonis figure now appears to be seated, impinges upon a third drawing in which Adonis has
become Rinaldo, thrusting out a mirror as he leans against Armida.
Page 85The three drawings on this page relate to the theme of Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see 22). In the uppermost drawing, inscribed within a lunette, three putti are depicted, one of which lifts up the mirror. Oddly, although the figure to the left is presented through an unruly pattern of lines and is thus difficult to decipher, it appears to have breasts and wears a gown instead of a tunic, as in another depiction of Rinaldo on the page. Perhaps the artist intended to switch the positions of Rinaldo and Armida. As it stands, the image is confusing.
Page 86
This sheet evokes Paris. The faint drawing at upper right suggests, in reverse, the Pieta by Nicolas Coustou behind the high altar in Notre Dame, Paris. Romney and Greene visited Notre Dame on September 19th and 27th 1764. A drawing at the bottom of the page depicts a large group of people including a small child gathered around a commanding figure, presumably Christ, gesturing with his right hand. These figures may reference figures from Jean Jouvenet's The Resurrection of Lazarus, one of the paintings that Greene’s journal mentions he and Romney saw in the church of Saint Martin-des-Champs in Paris on September 22nd. Confiscated from this former church during the Revolution, this painting is now in the Louvre (Inv. No. 5489). While in Paris, Romney could have purchased an engraving of this painting by Jean Audran and thus have had it available in later years in London. Another group of figures from this painting is referenced in drawings in Courtauld Sketchbook No. 1, which dates from c. 1770 (e.g. 11 and 26).
The most detailed drawing on this page is a study of a young woman with pouty lips and nearly closed eyes. It conveys something of the seductive insouciance of females depicted by Jean-Baptiste Greuze. If Romney did, in fact, have this sketchbook with him in Paris, this drawing may reflect a work he saw there by Greuze. Conversely, it could register the influence of a print after Greuze, in which case it could have been done some years after the 1764 visit. The figure's hairstyle, with its soft curls framing the face and the characteristic headband, signal the influence of Greuze. Also, Greuze favored an oval format in many of his paintings of seductive females, and an oval is suggested here by the background shading describing a curve at the right side of the drawing. In addition, the figure's low-cut dress and the partial exposure of the right breast (emphasized by delicate shading) further locate this image within Greuze's manner.
The drawing within the lunette is connected to other drawings depicting Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see particularly 84, 85, 87, and 88). As in 85, a standing putto raises the mirror. Also as in 85, the identification of the subject is clouded by the fact that ‘Rinaldo’ is a winsome figure clothed in long draperies, thus giving the impression of being female.
Page 87
Three drawings for Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden appear in landscape orientation, two within a lunette format. One of the drawings includes putti to the right. (Refer also to 84, 85, 86, and 88).
Page 88
Two drawings in landscape orientation depict Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden. One of these is set within a faintly indicated lunette. A standing figure in a gown with a large sash tied at the back appears sideways at upper left. Upside down at the top of the page is a drawing of a pair of striding females similar to those in 77, studies for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality.
A tiny thumbnail portrait study at bottom right depicts a seated woman and standing infant. Four less detailed drawings, variants of this subject, are arrayed around the thumbnail.
Page 89
Four drawings, filling most of the page, relate to Rinaldo and Armida in Armida’s enchanted Garden (see 22). At the top of the page, upside down at the left, is a faint sketch of two standing figures very similar to those in a portrait composition in 72. To the right of that drawing, also upside down, is an extremely faint composition depicting a standing figure along with a seated one. Compare this to a very similar drawing in 52. Both of these compositions may have some relation to ideas Romney was working on for his painting of Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, in that they focus on two females. However, they have nothing to do with the painting as eventually realized. As with most such studies in the sketchbook, the figures are shown full length, rather than half-length as in the painting.
Page 90
Upside down at the top of the page are two drawings of a seated female. The figure shares the contrapposto of the seated figures in 16, 19, 39 and 79, but in these drawings the left arm extends outwards. A very faint sketch of a seated figure, viewed from behind and leaning backwards, appears between these drawings. Beneath these drawings, also upside down, is a landscape drawing in black chalk. Very reductive in its form, it depicts heavily shaded trees silhouetted against a more lightly sketched sky and clouds.
Page 91
A strike through of the black chalk landscape on the facing page is present here. This page has six studies of standing females. Five depict a single figure, in one instance resting her right elbow on an urn, an allusion to mortality. The sixth drawing, which includes a second female, bears some similarity, in reverse, to a pair of females in 23, presumably the first instance in the sketchbook of a drawing related to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. Additional similar drawings are seen in 73 and 77. Here, the figures are shown half rather than full-length.
Page 92
At the left, a figure in a long gown presides at an altar from which smoke rises. This is the only such image in the sketchbook. Unless Romney is creating a startling fusion of subject matter, this should be regarded as a discrete subject, unrelated to the group on the same plane at the right, which depicts several figures standing behind a woman with bowed head. This group can be compared with figures in 31. If connected to the figures in 31 instead of to the figure at the altar, the subject would be The Accusation of Susannah (see also 25 and 99). Romney dealt with this subject in a number of drawings in other sketchbooks, among them Courtauld Sketchbook No. l, datable to around 1770 (e.g. 1v, 2, 24v, 25v, 26, 30v, 34v, 35v, 36, 36v, 38v and 40v). He also made drawings and at least one painting on The Accusation of Susannah after his return from Italy.
Page 93
Upside down on the page is a large composition drawing for Rinaldo abandoning Armida. This is a rare example in this sketchbook of the artist using an entire page for one drawing. The muscular anatomy of the male figures is rendered more clearly here than in other drawings on the subject (see 6, 20, 23, 24, 28, 34, 75, 80, and 81).
Page 94
On the top half of the page is a large, though faint, drawing of a standing woman. Two locks of the woman's fashionable upswept hairdo are accented by dark shading. The woman’s outspread arms with upturned palms, an unusually active gesture, make it difficult to regard this as a portrait study. Superimposed on this drawing is a ghost image of the standing woman appearing in 95. A man's eyes, nose, and prominent mouth appear in a very small drawing at upper right. The blank eyes, fleshy nose, and stern, full mouth suggest this was studied from a classical cast or print. A rather faint, but extremely sensitive and graceful study of a hand issuing from a frilly cuff, appears at mid-page (compare this to other drawings of hands in 1 and 27). Convincing renderings of hands were essential to a portrait painter's craft.
Page 95
A large profile drawing of a standing woman occupies the center of the page. Another slight sketch of this woman is below at left. This figure's straight, thin nose and parted lips, recall the female figure in 31 and her pose has similarities to the standing woman in a group of figures in 92, all of which may relate this drawing to The Accusation of Susannah. At the left are three drawings of a seated figure with its right hand on its forehead. The drawings are difficult to decipher, but the one in the center allows us to discern that a second figure leans against the first, draping its left arm over that figure's
knees. Very faint ghost images of two ink drawings in 96 can be discerned on this page.
Page 96
Two brown ink drawings of landscape fragments come as a surprise. The first landscape, sideways at top left, consists of craggy rocks and mountains. The second, at lower right, depicts a round-arched bridge behind which is the oversized base of an architectural feature supporting a strange column-like form attached to a fragmentary wall with a small window. The road across the bridge appears to dead-end at a craggy form at the right. Fields, buildings, and a mountain are in the distance. These drawings were no doubt inspired by Italianate landscapes, and the crosshatching methods employed indicate a print source. (See a much different landscape with an arched bridge in 29.)
In landscape orientation at the left is a graphite composition drawing of The Warren Family. Though less detailed than the study in 82, to which it is similar, it comes even closer to mirroring the composition of the final painting in that Lady Warren's right arm is extended downward rather than crossed over her lap. It would be fitting if the sketch that most closely presents the compositional arrangement of the painting were the last one of the series of preliminary studies in the sketchbook. However, it needs to be considered whether or not a difficult-to-read sketch on page 99 should also be regarded as a study for The Warren Family.
Page 97A small graphite drawing depicts a half-length female, right arm bent at the waist. The figure's left arm extends downward, its index finger touching what appears to be a skull. The presence of a skull obviously suggests a vanitas theme. In paintings of Mary Magdalene, the saint is often shown contemplating a skull. At a much later period Romney painted Emma Hamilton as a Magdalene. This image stands alone in the sketchbook although it reinforces the fact that Romney and many of his colleagues shared a fascination during this period with themes of melancholy and mortality, an interest that provided the basis for the artist's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (1767) and Melancholy (1770).
To the right, sideways on the page, is a pen and brown ink drawing of a round tower with a complicated profile, widening as it descends. Beside it are juxtaposed two similarly-complicated architectural forms. This is not a unified drawing but, rather, a study of separate fragments, an architectural fantasy of brobdingnagian proportions.
Page 98Only one drawing on this page is right side up. The others are in landscape orientation or upside down. Two portrait studies marked off within rectangles depict a woman with arms resting on a stone ball or urn (see an analogous figure in 7). Two drawings of young women, one wearing a lacy cap, may be portrait studies or ideas for genre paintings. A faint facial study is set down between these two. Two drawings of standing females reflect casual observation of gesture and movement as seen earlier as in 13. Less marked in this regard is a third standing figure to the right of these.
At top left, upside down, a figural grouping shows a figure leaning against a chair. A small child standing on a table reaches towards this figure; two additional figures stand behind. The liveliness and complicated arrangement of this scene suggest a group portrait in the manner of a conversation piece. This is the only drawing in the sketchbook to depict this particular group. To the right of this is a drawing of a standing male nude, hands clasped
and head bowed.
Page 99Upside down at the top of the page is a vague sketch, probably a portrait study. The two figures at the right are close in pose to those of Lady Warren and her daughter in 82. A curved line in the background may suggest the Colosseum, as seen in the painting. It is difficult to discern whether or not lines at the left in the composition are intended to describe a standing figure; if so, this would be Sir George Warren. If this sketch is indeed meant to be a study for The Warren Family, it revisits the compositional solution arrived at in 96, which mirrors that of the finished painting.
Five drawings of female nudes, two marked off within rectangles, fill much of the page. Most likely depicting Venus, two of the drawings include putti. One of the drawings appears to include a second figure standing behind the seated nude.
Two powerful drawings depict the same two old men in long robes seen in 31. These are presumably Susannah's accusers from The Accusation of Susannah (see also 25, 31, and 92). The emphatic hand gesture of one of the men is rendered with impressive economy. (The two men can be compared to those on the subject in Courtauld Sketchbook No. l, in particular 40v.)
Page 100All the drawings on this page are upside down. Seated females are depicted in five sketches near the top of the page. In two of these, the figures play stringed instruments (compare with 40, 64, and 103). In another of the drawings, a woman rests an arm on a table that supports an oval object (perhaps an urn). The next row of images includes a detailed study after some version of Venus and Adonis (see also 16). Here, instead of being shown from the back sitting on her couch, Venus rises up to grasp Adonis around the waist. This is a free interpretation of the subject as canonically painted by Titian. Next to this is a half-length of a woman wearing a dark cloak over her gown, posed against a landscape. The index finger of her extended left arm points downward, evocative of a similar detail in Romney's Elizabeth, Lady Blunt (see note on 24).
Two pairs of standing females at mid-page may relate to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see note on 23). Another petite drawing depicts a striding woman clad in tiny high-heeled shoes, a full skirt, and a fashionable hat worn at a tilt. A drawing at bottom left
depicts a seated couple with a slight similarity to figures in 48, though in this instance minus distaff and flute. A final portrait study at bottom right depicts a woman sitting at a harpsichord. She is accompanied by a standing figure that has been crossed through with repeated lines.
Page 101At the bottom of the page are two seated female nudes right arms raised to the head. At mid-page, upside down, is a bold, but clumsy, drawing of a seated figure, left arm raised. Scattered on the page are four figure studies of seated and standing women, which appear to be variants of one another. In one of the drawings, upside down at top right, the woman holds a parasol. In some of his studies for Sisters Contemplating on Mortality, originating in sketchbooks now disassembled, Romney used a parasol as a prop, although there is otherwise nothing to suggest that this drawing is related to that subject. Upside down below the middle of the page is a delicate outline drawing of a woman's face and neck, somewhat similar in expression to the woman depicted in 31, though this drawing lacks the detail and finesse of that example. Behind this image, dark lines are superimposed on the forehead of an awkwardly drawn profile.
Page 102All the drawings on the page are upside down. The most impressive is a portrait study of a statuesque female in a pose that echoes, in reverse, that of Mrs. Henry Verelst, a full-length portrait dating from c.1771. The statuesque pose is emphasized by the device of having the figure descend a flight of stairs, placing the viewer in an inferior position, thus magnifying the grandeur of the personage depicted. The flowing drapery, highlighted and flattened against the figure's right thigh to stress the sculptural weight of the figure, further increases its palpability and, in this, goes far beyond the single figure thumbnail portrait studies earlier in the sketchbook. This drawing, with its sculptural quality differs greatly from roughly contemporaneous drawings for Melancholy, seen in 14. As much as anything, the stylistic divergence results from the difference in media: graphite vs. pen and ink. Nonetheless, this drawing is a throwback to a drawing style more prevalent a few years earlier. If it is, as it seems, a study for the Verelst portrait, this tiny drawing can establish the end date for the active use of the sketchbook as 1771. Two drawings, one very faint, depicting pairs of females may be related to Romney's Sisters Contemplating on Mortality (see 23). Two additional very slight sketches on the page are difficult to read.
Page 103All drawings on this page are upside down. Seven drawings, a number of them difficult to decipher, employ the medium of red chalk. One is a thumbnail portrait study depicting a half-length standing female against a shaded background. This may be a record of Romney’s portrait of Mrs. Mary Hunt, c. 1769. The others depict standing and seated females. In two of the drawings the figure plays a stringed instrument (see also 40, 64, and 100). One drawing of two females in black chalk is perhaps related to Romney's painting of Two Sisters Contemplating on Mortality. Black chalk squiggles appear at the bottom of the page.
Page 104All the drawings here are upside down. On the lower half of the page is a large black chalk drawing of the head of Chrysippus, the Greek Stoic philosopher (see note on 1). The source of light, striking from the front, is taken into account, plunging the back of the head into darkness and creating a pool of dark shadow behind. Graduated shading fills the background. As to why the two drawings of the philosopher are so widely spaced in the sketchbook, it may simply have been easier to prop open the end pages of the sketchbook in making such detailed drawings in the Duke of Richmond's gallery of casts. Romney must have made both drawings at the same time. One of the seated figures in the portrait study at top right is very similar to the seated figure in a portrait study in 52. This may be yet another early idea for the Two Sisters double portrait. Two very slight additional sketches of standing figures are difficult to make out.
YRD
