Jessica (from William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Act II, sc.v)
Joseph Mallord William Turner, RA (London 1775 - Chelsea 1851)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1828
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1220 x 915 mm
Place of origin
Rome
Order this imageCollection
Petworth House and Park, West Sussex
NT 486624
Caption
The painting depicts the moment when Shylock tells Jessica to ‘stop…my casements’ (i.e. close the windows). When first exhibited in 1830 it was severely criticised, and Turner’s earliest biographer wrote in 1862 that ‘none but a great man dare have painted anything so bad.’
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Jessica (from William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Act II, sc.v ) by Joseph Mallord William Turner, RA (London 1775 - Chelsea 1851). A painting by J.M.W. Turner of a scene from Act II scene v of Jessica from 'The Merchant of Venice' (TATE/T03887). Jessica is standing at an open window which acts as a frame for her head and shoulders, with her arms outstretched either side, one hand looped around a sash cord tassle, the other resting on the window sill. She is wearing a dress with elbow length sleeves and a very delicate lace garment around her shoulders which falls to below her waist. On her head is a large round hat and around her neck a necklace of gold inset with red stones.
Provenance
Bought from Turner by George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751-1837) circa 1831; thence by descent, until the death in 1952 of the 3rd Lord Leconfield, who had given Petworth to the National Trust in 1947, and whose nephew and heir, John Wyndham, 6th Lord Leconfield and 1st Lord Egremont (1920-72) arranged for the acceptance of the major portion of the collections at Petworth in lieu of death duties (the first ever such arrangement) in 1956 by HM Treasury. Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax. Allocated to Tate in 1984 and on long-term loan from Tate to the National Trust at Petworth.
Credit line
Petworth, The Egremont Collection Accepted by HM Government in lieu of tax and allocated to the Tate Gallery 1984. In situ at Petworth House
Makers and roles
Joseph Mallord William Turner, RA (London 1775 - Chelsea 1851), artist