About this artwork
Curator: Walter Howell Deverell’s painting, "A Pet," portrays a woman tenderly interacting with a birdcage. It’s a lovely, sentimental piece. Editor: Yes, the way she’s nuzzling the cage makes you wonder, doesn't it? What do you see in this work, something beyond just a sweet scene? Curator: I think it’s a rumination on domesticity. The bird, the dog at her feet, and the woman herself—all contained within the garden, a microcosm of life. Do you feel that sense of enclosure, too? Editor: I do. The garden path almost leads nowhere. I guess I see it as maybe bittersweet, beautiful but also a little bit trapped. Curator: Exactly! It captures a moment of intimacy and a reflection on what it means to be confined, perhaps even by love. It’s a delicate balance. Editor: It's certainly made me think about those hidden layers of meaning. Thanks!
Artwork details
- Dimensions
- support: 838 x 571 mm frame: 1175 x 816 x 65 mm
- Location
- Tate Collections
- Copyright
- CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Comments
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/deverell-a-pet-n02854
When this picture was first exhibited it was accompanied by a quotation from 'Leaves from the Note-Book of a Naturalist' by W.J.Broderip: 'But after all, it is very questionable kindness to make a pet of a creature so essentially volatile.' An early associate of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Deverell's first pictures were characterised by their clarity of vision. 'A Pet', with its more painterly approach and with a subject which recalls fashionable 'fancy portraits', shows Deverell moving towards the mainstream of British art. Deverell died young. His memory was much cherished by friends and associates. In 1895, Burne-Jones and his wife bought 'A Pet' partly 'as a link with a time of which we had often thought'. Gallery label, August 2004
About this artwork
Curator: Walter Howell Deverell’s painting, "A Pet," portrays a woman tenderly interacting with a birdcage. It’s a lovely, sentimental piece. Editor: Yes, the way she’s nuzzling the cage makes you wonder, doesn't it? What do you see in this work, something beyond just a sweet scene? Curator: I think it’s a rumination on domesticity. The bird, the dog at her feet, and the woman herself—all contained within the garden, a microcosm of life. Do you feel that sense of enclosure, too? Editor: I do. The garden path almost leads nowhere. I guess I see it as maybe bittersweet, beautiful but also a little bit trapped. Curator: Exactly! It captures a moment of intimacy and a reflection on what it means to be confined, perhaps even by love. It’s a delicate balance. Editor: It's certainly made me think about those hidden layers of meaning. Thanks!
Comments
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/deverell-a-pet-n02854
When this picture was first exhibited it was accompanied by a quotation from 'Leaves from the Note-Book of a Naturalist' by W.J.Broderip: 'But after all, it is very questionable kindness to make a pet of a creature so essentially volatile.' An early associate of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Deverell's first pictures were characterised by their clarity of vision. 'A Pet', with its more painterly approach and with a subject which recalls fashionable 'fancy portraits', shows Deverell moving towards the mainstream of British art. Deverell died young. His memory was much cherished by friends and associates. In 1895, Burne-Jones and his wife bought 'A Pet' partly 'as a link with a time of which we had often thought'. Gallery label, August 2004
