Thomas Rowlandson (London 1756-1827)
Property of a Private Collector
Thomas Rowlandson (London 1756-1827)

Death looking at vanity

Details
Thomas Rowlandson (London 1756-1827)
Death looking at vanity
inscribed 'Let her paint an Inch thick, to this favour she must come./ Shakespear' (lower center, on the artist's mount)
pencil, pen and ink and watercolor
12 x 10 in. (30.5 x 25.4 cm)
Provenance
with Davis Galleries, New York

Brought to you by

Furio Rinaldi
Furio Rinaldi

Lot Essay

The inscription on the present drawing comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act V, Scene I, Ophelia's burial procession. It is spoken by Hamlet to Yorick's skull, suggesting that however much effort one puts into their appearance, mortality is inescapable.

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