Aunt Eva Vintage 302pc Work by Ford Madox Brown DSC00389
Update Sep2022: Mended
This was one of the rare times I took a chance on unknown jigsaws on ebay where there was no image of the final jigsaw. There were four or five examples all in the same wall-paper covered boxes, decorated with magazine or print relating to the contents - most with interesting piece shapes though low counts. I was attracted to this one because of the Arts & Craft box article and I recognised a line-cut head as belonging to a fascinating arched painting called 'Work' by Ford Madox Brown.
I am now attributing it to Aunt Eva on the basis of cutting style, packaging format and hand writing.
The text on the top reads:
"I MUST WORK WHILE IT IS DAY, FOR THE NIGHT COMETH WHEN NO MAN CAN WORK." (John 9:4)
"NEITHER DID WE EAT ANY MAN'S BREAD FOR NAUGHT; BUT WROUGHT WITH LABOUR AND TRAVAIL NIGHT AND DAY." (2 Thess 3:8)
"SEEST THOU A MAN DILIGENT IN HIS BUSINESS? HE SHALL STAND BEFORE KINGS." (Proverbs 22:29)
The text on the side refers to Manchester Art Gallery. The detailed text is signed H.L.Y. at the end - I don't know how it relates to Madox Brown's original extensive catalogue notes but I believe all these quotations were included on the frame of the painting. It includes a fourth Biblical quotation: IN THE SWEAT OF THY FACE THOU SHALL EAT BREAD. (gENESIS 3:19).
It did indeed prove to be that painting and had only one piece missing. 302pc, measuring 15x11in 1pcmiss, interlocking cut. You can see that there are few straight edges - which proved to be internal line-cut edges. The edge has a pleasant deckle (waviness, like old book page edges).
mavcor.yale.edu/conversations/object-narratives/ford-mado...
The Wikipedia article about this painting is excellent and in great depth. (Pomegranate have also done a 1000pc cardboard version of the painting.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_(painting)
Work (1852–1865) by Ford Madox Brown that is generally considered to be his most important achievement. It exists in two versions. The painting attempts to portray, both literally and analytically, the totality of the Victorian social system and the transition from a rural to an urban economy. Brown began the painting in 1852 and completed it in 1865, when he set up a special exhibition to show it along with several of his other works. He wrote a detailed catalogue explaining the significance of the picture.
The painting was commissioned by Thomas Plint, a well-known collector of Pre-Raphaelite art, who died before its completion. The setting is an accurate depiction of The Mount on Heath Street in Hampstead, London, where a side road rises up above the main road and runs alongside it. Brown made a detailed study of the location in 1852. It is believed to depict roadworks required for extensions of London's sewerage system, to deal with the threat of typhus and cholera. It also shows election canvassing.
After I'd bought it, and another called Goose Fair (I was born in Nottingham) I had a brief conversation with the seller and asked her if they came from a house clearance. She said she had found them in a skip - so I wasn't expecting much! Goose Fair turned out to be an illustration of a market place re-imagined in 19thC. It has one piece missing and an extra piece that doesn't belong to it. I'll be contacting the seller to ask if any of the other buyers are missing a piece - or if they have one of mine!
Aunt Eva Vintage 302pc Work by Ford Madox Brown DSC00389
Update Sep2022: Mended
This was one of the rare times I took a chance on unknown jigsaws on ebay where there was no image of the final jigsaw. There were four or five examples all in the same wall-paper covered boxes, decorated with magazine or print relating to the contents - most with interesting piece shapes though low counts. I was attracted to this one because of the Arts & Craft box article and I recognised a line-cut head as belonging to a fascinating arched painting called 'Work' by Ford Madox Brown.
I am now attributing it to Aunt Eva on the basis of cutting style, packaging format and hand writing.
The text on the top reads:
"I MUST WORK WHILE IT IS DAY, FOR THE NIGHT COMETH WHEN NO MAN CAN WORK." (John 9:4)
"NEITHER DID WE EAT ANY MAN'S BREAD FOR NAUGHT; BUT WROUGHT WITH LABOUR AND TRAVAIL NIGHT AND DAY." (2 Thess 3:8)
"SEEST THOU A MAN DILIGENT IN HIS BUSINESS? HE SHALL STAND BEFORE KINGS." (Proverbs 22:29)
The text on the side refers to Manchester Art Gallery. The detailed text is signed H.L.Y. at the end - I don't know how it relates to Madox Brown's original extensive catalogue notes but I believe all these quotations were included on the frame of the painting. It includes a fourth Biblical quotation: IN THE SWEAT OF THY FACE THOU SHALL EAT BREAD. (gENESIS 3:19).
It did indeed prove to be that painting and had only one piece missing. 302pc, measuring 15x11in 1pcmiss, interlocking cut. You can see that there are few straight edges - which proved to be internal line-cut edges. The edge has a pleasant deckle (waviness, like old book page edges).
mavcor.yale.edu/conversations/object-narratives/ford-mado...
The Wikipedia article about this painting is excellent and in great depth. (Pomegranate have also done a 1000pc cardboard version of the painting.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_(painting)
Work (1852–1865) by Ford Madox Brown that is generally considered to be his most important achievement. It exists in two versions. The painting attempts to portray, both literally and analytically, the totality of the Victorian social system and the transition from a rural to an urban economy. Brown began the painting in 1852 and completed it in 1865, when he set up a special exhibition to show it along with several of his other works. He wrote a detailed catalogue explaining the significance of the picture.
The painting was commissioned by Thomas Plint, a well-known collector of Pre-Raphaelite art, who died before its completion. The setting is an accurate depiction of The Mount on Heath Street in Hampstead, London, where a side road rises up above the main road and runs alongside it. Brown made a detailed study of the location in 1852. It is believed to depict roadworks required for extensions of London's sewerage system, to deal with the threat of typhus and cholera. It also shows election canvassing.
After I'd bought it, and another called Goose Fair (I was born in Nottingham) I had a brief conversation with the seller and asked her if they came from a house clearance. She said she had found them in a skip - so I wasn't expecting much! Goose Fair turned out to be an illustration of a market place re-imagined in 19thC. It has one piece missing and an extra piece that doesn't belong to it. I'll be contacting the seller to ask if any of the other buyers are missing a piece - or if they have one of mine!