Clarke, William (McKechnie Section 7)
Known from a profile of a young girl, painted (judging from the girl's dress) during the early 1820s and signed 'Clarke' below the bust-line. The profilist can-not be certainly identified with any artist named Clarke, or Clark, recorded by Jackson or Foskett. Jackson records a William Clark, who was listed in Pigot's Commercial Directory in 1828 and 1829; the entries, sent in from Ashet Place, Pickering, describe Clark as a 'profile delineator'. Though his surname is given by Jackson without a final ‘e', he may have been the artist who is the subject of this entry. Foskett lists several miniaturists named Clarke. One of these, Theophilus Clarke, was a portrait painter who entered the Royal Academy Schools on 22 March 1793, at the age of seventeen, and exhibited at the Academy 1801-10.
A curious feature of the profile with which we are concerned is the sitter's scanty hair, which suggests that she might recently have recovered from scarlet fever or some other disease. She wears a high-waisted blue dress with shoulder-knots; the centre of the visible side is painted in pink. The belt is painted in gold (except for the parts which are in deepest shadow), as is the short necklace. The child's cropped hair is painted in a mixture of gum arabic and Chinese white. Gum arabic has also been lavishly used on the parts of the dress where greatest depth of colour is needed. The girl's eyelash is placed rather too high. The profile is in a papier mâché frame, with a brass acorn ring.
Ills. 262, 1608
1608
Detail (enlarged) from the silhouette by Clarke discussed in the text and illustrated in 262. The strong strokes of gum arabic with which depth has been given to the colour of the dress, and the brushwork of the signature, are alike clearly visible.
Detail (enlarged) from the silhouette by Clarke discussed in the text and illustrated in 262. The strong strokes of gum arabic with which depth has been given to the colour of the dress, and the brushwork of the signature, are alike clearly visible.
Author’s collection
262
Unknown girl (aged about ten)
Silhouette, signed ‘Clarke’ (possibly William Clark of Pickering), painted in black and colour, early 1820s. The sitter’s hair is rendered in gum arabic, mixed with Chinese white. The dress is in blue, the shoulder-knot bright blue (and pink in the centre). The belt and necklace are painted in gold.
The hair is little help for dating, since it has probably been cut short after an epidemic of (possibly) scarlet fever.
The extra width at the shoulder of the muslin dress, increased by large shoulder-knots (similar to the mancherons worn by adults at the time), suggests the early 1820s. Later in this decade the waist-line would be lower.
The necklace identifies the sitter as a girl.
Unknown girl (aged about ten)
Silhouette, signed ‘Clarke’ (possibly William Clark of Pickering), painted in black and colour, early 1820s. The sitter’s hair is rendered in gum arabic, mixed with Chinese white. The dress is in blue, the shoulder-knot bright blue (and pink in the centre). The belt and necklace are painted in gold.
costume dating points
The hair is little help for dating, since it has probably been cut short after an epidemic of (possibly) scarlet fever.
The extra width at the shoulder of the muslin dress, increased by large shoulder-knots (similar to the mancherons worn by adults at the time), suggests the early 1820s. Later in this decade the waist-line would be lower.
The necklace identifies the sitter as a girl.
Author’s collection
SECTION SEVEN