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John Melhuish Strudwick, 'Study of a Young Girl', 1849-1937

 


Strudwick's carefully, sensitively and delicately rendered pencil portrait proves the awareness of the artist's hand beyond the medium of oil painting, and the importance of a study in his methods of working. Shading is richly worked, to capture a variety of tonal changes across the sitter's face, focusing on her downturned gaze, the gentle folds of cloth around her head and the subtle shadows of her hairline against her features. Not only does it tell a viewer more about the hand of Strudwick, but also about the artistic processes at the time; the creation of a preparatory sketch to create a future work, but which is nevertheless worth exploring on its own as a capable pencil drawing by a later Pre-Raphaelite practitioner.

Strudwick is best known for his works which capture the spirit of Waterhouse, Burne-Jones, or John Roddam Spencer Stanhope - In the Golden Days by Strudwick, from 1907, invokes the stacked female figures which Burne-Jones included in his paintings, whilst the full-length portrait of Isabella sold at Christie's in 2001, is not so far from the work of Stanhope or Evelyn De Morgan. Certainly, Strudwick was part of these late Pre-Raphaelite networks, developing into the early twentieth century, and first worked as a studio assistant to Stanhope after studying in London. He also included poetry by the architect G.F. Bodley as the titles for some of his oil paintings, highlighting the connections which Strudwick made as an artist working in London. His style is characterised by a deep attention to detail on both figures and background details, such as the textures and patterns on draperies, foliage and setting. Mythological and symbolic subject matter forms the backbone of his oeuvre, and he was indebted to Quattrocento painters of the Italian Renaissance, as were many earlier Pre-Raphaelite artists working in the mid to late nineteenth century.

Although it remains a small-scale, monochrome design, Strudwick's Study of a Young Girl is not without character, and seems to pull the onlooker in despite the figure being presented to us in profile, with a downcast gaze. Often a symbol of humility, and related to depictions of the Virgin in the Italian Renaissance tradition, here it is both sorrowful and gentle which creates distance, yet invites us in as we try to learn more about the girl in front of us. Strudwick has focused on the features of the sitter, yet has still delineated the cloth around her head in quick, light pencil strokes, mapping out the knot and flowing draperies down the girl's neck. The shading around the eyes is particularly specific, again drawing us towards the downcast look. Despite the delicacy, the shape of the face from the angle of the chin to the outline of the nose and lips, remains strong and confidently executed. The piece is undated, but includes the monogram of the artist in the bottom right, seemingly confirming the attribution. Although drawings can only be exhibited around once every ten years, in order to preserve them for future researchers and viewers, it is worth remembering that they are not only important markers of an artists' hand, but they were fundamental in the process of creation and deserve to be appreciated as works of art in their own right. Their fragility and delicacy only makes caring for them even more necessary. 

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