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'The children of Sir Ralph Darling' : silhouette reverse painted on glass
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Title:
'The children of Sir Ralph Darling' : silhouette reverse painted on glass
Date:
[around 1836]
Format:
1 silhouette : reverse painted on glass : 16.5 x 21.5 cm.
Inscription:
Titled within image on lower edge: 'The children of Sir Ralph Darling'
Subject:
silhouettes
Darling family.
Description:
The title declares the subject of this silhouette painting to be the children of Sir Ralph Darling. Ralph Darling (1775-1858) was the governor of NSW from 1825 to 1831, knighted in September 1835. He married Eliza Dumaresq (1798-1868) in 1817 and they had ten children, seven of whom survived infancy: Cordelia Maria (1818-1868), Frederick (1821-1909), Sydney (1825-1909), Augustus (1826-1887), Caroline (1829-1914), Charlotte Amelia (1831-1912) and Agnes (1833-1909).
At least three other versions of this silhouette painting are known to exist, sold at auction in England and the United States between 2007 and 2015. The common elements in all versions are the title and the depictions of the three young girls (presumably representing the three youngest children of Ralph and Eliza Darling) bringing flowers for an arrangement placed on a small table in a drawing room. Other versions include, variously, one dog, two dogs, or variations in the drapery framing the scene. All elements - children, dogs and drapery - are generic components of silhouette paintings of the first half of the nineteenth century.
The scene is framed in a decorative verre eglomise border with a gilt-painted timber surround and a birdeye maple frame. The technique of reverse painting on glass means that the components of the silhouette can appear to cast shadows if the picture is held in a certain way.
Provenance:
David Ell collection; Christie's (Sydney), 19 August 1993 lot 1721; Caroline Simpson Collection, Clyde Bank, The Rocks, Sydney, 1994-2004.
Exhibited in:
On loan to Old government House, Parramatta, in the 1980s.
Source:
Museum of Sydney ; MOS2005/4
Rights:
You may save or print this image for research and study. If you wish to use it for any other purposes, you must contact Museums of History NSW to request permission.
Material Type:
Picture
Record number:
53947