Dimensions: support: 838 x 571 mm frame: 1175 x 816 x 65 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
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
Join the conversation
Join millions of artists and users on Artera today and experience the ultimate creative platform.
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
CollectMore like this
