Artwork
Composition, for the front cover of 'The V&A Album'
Composition, for the front cover of 'The V&A Album' is a watercolor work on paper by the Contemporary Abstract artist Mynott. It dates from 1982 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1982 by artist Michael Mynott, this watercolour served as the front cover for The V&A Album. It presents a sculpted vase, rendered in the form of a cornucopia, that overflows with a multitude of tiny depictions drawn from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collections.
Subject & Meaning
The vase functions as a visual repository, holding miniature images of objects such as a harp, a crown, a sword, and various decorative items. These reduced forms reference the museum’s breadth of artifacts, suggesting a condensed survey of its holdings, though the specific symbolic associations remain open to interpretation.
Technique & Style
Executed in bright, flat washes of colour against a warm brown ground, the work employs the transparent qualities of watercolour to delineate each miniature element with clarity. The composition balances detailed rendering of individual objects with a decorative overall pattern, emphasizing both precision and a stylised, almost illustrative aesthetic.
History & Provenance
Commissioned for the 1982 edition of The V&A Album, the piece was produced by Mynott specifically for the museum’s publication. Since its initial appearance, it has remained in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s archives, documented as part of the institution’s visual record of its own collections.
Artist & collection
Artist
Mynott is a surname. Notable people with this surname include:Adam Mynott, English radio journalist Brian Mynott, English-born Australian rules footballer Lawrence Mynott, English book illustrator, designer, and…
