george romney’s titania and her attendants GEORGE ROMNEY’S TITANIA AND HER ATTENDANTS lowell libson ltd · 2011 [ A ] LOWELL LIBSON LTD BRITISH PAINTINGS WATERCOLOURS AND DRAWINGS 3 Clifford Street · Londonw1s 2lf +44 (0)20 7734 8686 ·
[email protected] www.lowell-libson.com [ B ] GEORGE ROMNEY’S TITANIA AND HER ATTENDANTS LOWELL LIBSON LIMITED LONDON · 2011 George Romney, A study for Titania and her Attendants Pen with brown ink and wash · 61/8 x 7¾ inches · 156 x 196 mm · Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC (Art Vol.c59.45) INTRODUCTION Romney has long been regarded as one of the major figures of late eighteenth would have been familiar from his early years in Westmorland as well as on his century portraiture and, albeit, perhaps slightly less highly regarded than Rey- subsequent visits in later years to see his wife who remained there. John Dalton, nolds, Gainsborough and Lawrence, his technical confidence, adventurous sense the natural philosopher who developed atomic theory was teaching in Kendal of design – especially strong in the period after his return from Italy – and his between 1786 and 1793 and recorded some 250 sightings of the Aurora Borealis dur- ability to record his sitters with elegance and sophistication has always maintained ing that period, including spectacular displays in 1787. his reputation. In recent years there has generally been a greater critical apprecia- The late series of paintings inspired by Shakespeare and especially by Midsum- tion for his drawings than his portraits and this is not entirely unfounded. Rom- mer Night’s Dream are perhaps the apogee of his career and mark Romney out as ney’s solid skills as a draughtsman were transmuted by his time in Rome where he one of the most innovative and inspired painters of the early Romantic move- was exposed to the glories of seventeenth century Roman drawing, the influence ment.