Rouse, J. M. (McKechnie Section 1)

Recorded by Jackson (Dictionary), who mentions a signed silhouette (illustrated) in the Kilner collection, which appears to date from the early 1830s. Another example (illustrated in Chapter Seven) has since been identified on grounds of the style of painting; the sitter is a Miss A. L. Wilson, and the date is 1833. The former silhouette is signed, but no address of the artist is known.

There seems to be no reason to identify Rouse with the well known painter on Derby china, James Rouse (listed by Foskett). It seems unlikely that such an artist, skilled in painting on porcelain and enamel, would have painted silhouettes of the type attributed to J. M. Rouse, Graves records a J. Rouse who exhibited an architectural subject at the Royal Academy in 1817.

Rouse seems to have specialized in cutting rather long, almost half-length profiles, painted in dark grey and embellished mainly with gold, though also with some gum arabic. The gold was used on the hair, and is also seen on an ear-ring; the gum arabic was used to show the lines of the clothing and the decoration on the large comb used at the time to set off the fashionable Apollo knot. If a profile of a man by Rouse should come to light the hair would no doubt be similarly shown by gold, and the details of clothing would be painted in gum arabic. Both of the identified profiles cover much of the surface of the card on which they are painted, part of the bust-line termination being hidden. The magnified detail (from the example in the Kilner collection) shows Rouse's signature, and also his characteristic use of strokes of gum arabic to indicate the large sleeve of the early 1830s.

Ills. 210, 559, 560

210