Penelope Boothby

Book condition:

Book Description

London: circa 1900. Colour-printed stipple. Printed on wove paper. In excellent condition. Image size: 8 1/2 x 7 inches. 12 x 9 1/4 inches. 15 3/8 x 11 1/8 inches. A charming example of Reynolds's child-portraits expertly engraved by Eugene Tily. This pretty portrait by Reynolds proved to be one of his most famous paintings. It was the inspiration for John Everett Millais's celebrated work "Cherry Ripe," which became one of the most popular Victorian paintings of the age. Reynolds's endearing image, often known as "The Mob-Cap," pictures Penelope Boothby at the age of three. Penelope was the only daughter of Sir Brooke Boothby, 7th Baronet, and his wife Susannah, and she is pictured here as the epitome of intelligent innocence. Reynolds' portrayal of the little girl, who was a prodigy, came at the beginning of a new view and valuation of childhood, which appeared in many forms throughout the 19th century. Penelope Boothby, as noted, became a symbol of the inquisitive sweetness she radiates in this image but also of the brevity of life: she died at six, a devastating loss to her parents, who split up. This charming stipple print by Tily perfectly translates Reynolds's graceful portrait was done at the beginning of the 20th century when a number of excellent British artists revived intaglio techniques fallen into dis-use in nostalgic images of what appeared to be more congenial times . Penny, Reynolds p. 319, no. 147.