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Lot 19

"The Cockpit - where Nelson died"
George Cruikshank

18 October 2005, 14:00 BST
Oxford

Sold for £480 inc. premium

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"The Cockpit - where Nelson died"
George Cruikshank

Study of the cockpit on the Victory, captioned by him "The Cockpit - where Nelson died" and the drawing itself "The Knee he rested against - before expiring", in pencil; with wash studies, signed, of Mme Rachel as Maria Stuart on the reverse, on wove paper watermarked "Ruse & T/18", verso time-stained, mounted, 5.25x8.2in (132x208mm). [c.1840]

Footnotes

Although Arthur Devis's famous painting of the death of Nelson depicts the same spot with great fidelity, it does, for the sake of pictorial effect, exaggerate the height of the cockpit: by contrast this study by Cruikshank more vividly conveys a sense of the cramped confines of the cockpit where the dying Nelson lay. It also possesses the almost photographic immediacy of a sketch made on the spot, annotated by Cruikshank for his future guidance. One of Cruikshank's first successful works, etched when he was fourteen years old, was a view of Nelson's funeral car.

Additional information

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