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A Monk at a Fountain

1877
Not on view
Seymour Haden was the unlikely combination of a surgeon and an etcher. Although he pursued a very successful medical career, he is mostly remembered for his etched work as well as for his writings on etching. He was one of a group of artists, including James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) and Alphonse Legros (1837–1911), whose passionate interest in the medium led to the so-called etching revival, a period that lasted well into the twentieth century. The extolling of etching for its inherent spontaneous qualities reached its pinnacle during this time. While the line of the etching needle, Haden wrote, was "free, expressive, full of vivacity," that of the burin was "cold, constrained, uninteresting," and "without identity."
Monk at left holding right hand to chest and looking up at a crucifix afixed to a tree at right.
"Published States: First.-'Seymour Haden 1877.'
[Source: Harrington, p. 98]
"State I (Da,H1). A monk stands praying before a crucifix nailed to a large, barren cork tree; his cowl is dark. With the signature and date 'Seymour Haden 1877'."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 349]

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Monk at a Fountain
  • Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
  • Date: 1877
  • Medium: Etching; first (final) state (Harrington); third state of four (Schneiderman)
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 7 11/16 × 11 7/16 in. (19.5 × 29 cm)
    Plate: 5 15/16 × 8 15/16 in. (15.1 × 22.7 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.3.2076
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Penton Hook, Sir Francis Seymour Haden British, Etching and drypoint; trial proof c (Harrington); third state of six (Schneiderman)
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Combe Bottom, Sir Francis Seymour Haden British, Etching and drypoint; first state of three (Harrington); tenth state of sixteen (Schneiderman)
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