Artwork
Interior of a drawing room
Interior of a drawing room is a drawing by the Romanticist artist Samuel Collings. It dates from 1786 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Samuel Collings' 1786 pencil drawing depicts the interior of a drawing room with five figures arranged in a scene of everyday interaction, characterized by quick, loose lines and a lack of polished detail.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing features three distinct groups: an elderly woman and her daughter on a sofa; an officer with a wooden leg alongside a clergyman in an apron; and Samuel Johnson and James Boswell in conversation. The inclusion of a wooden leg and grey-tinted stockings may satirically allude to the 'Blue Stockings' social circle.
Technique & Style
Executed in loose, uneven lines, the drawing appears as a rapid study rather than a finished work. Faces are sketchily defined, with some reduced to rudimentary shapes, emphasizing the capture of a moment over detailed representation.
History & Provenance
Created in 1786, this drawing is notably larger than Collings' related etched series and remains unreproduced, suggesting it may have been a personal or preliminary work.
Artist & collection
Charles Dickens reading 'The Chimes' to his friends in John Foster's chambers
A sketch of three Western figures in a drawing room
Three studies for a portrait of a Western woman and child
Le repos du modèle (2e planche) (The Model's Rest) (second plate)
The Bloomsbury Christening
The Bohemian Wedding
Lovers under a Tree
Les trois commères
A family portrait
A Western woman with her children in Macau
A Western woman seated at a table
Figures at table