Sub Tegmine...
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".
Haden created this composition on a summer afternoon spent with Whistler in London’s Greenwich Park. A naval pensioner reclines under the sundrenched foliage of the sycamore trees that dominate the scene. Whistler’s handwriting appears under Haden’s signature: "Greenwich Park, 1859." The Latin title, Sub Tegmine, means "under the canopy" and shows the artist’s interest in literature; it comes from the ancient Roman author Virgil’s first Eclogue, a series of poems about a pastoral world.
"The first line of Virgil's 'Eclogues', and the last line of his 'Georgics', contain the phrase, 'sub tegmine patulae fagi' ('under the covert of spreading beech'). This print is of the same scene and was etched the same day as Whistler's 'Greenwich Pensioner'.
State I. The scene very weakly etched and there is extensive but light foul-biting. With the inscription by Whistler F.S. Haden, Greenwich Park, 1859 (E,1.1)."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 61]
"Trial Proofs: (b) The plate reduced as above. [Above: The plate measures 5 7/8 in. w. by 8 7/8 in h., 'F.S. Haden, Greenwich Park, 1859.' Three impressions only. Coll. Lenox Library, New York.']"
[Source: Harrington, p. 9]
*inscription barely legible on this impression
Haden created this composition on a summer afternoon spent with Whistler in London’s Greenwich Park. A naval pensioner reclines under the sundrenched foliage of the sycamore trees that dominate the scene. Whistler’s handwriting appears under Haden’s signature: "Greenwich Park, 1859." The Latin title, Sub Tegmine, means "under the canopy" and shows the artist’s interest in literature; it comes from the ancient Roman author Virgil’s first Eclogue, a series of poems about a pastoral world.
"The first line of Virgil's 'Eclogues', and the last line of his 'Georgics', contain the phrase, 'sub tegmine patulae fagi' ('under the covert of spreading beech'). This print is of the same scene and was etched the same day as Whistler's 'Greenwich Pensioner'.
State I. The scene very weakly etched and there is extensive but light foul-biting. With the inscription by Whistler F.S. Haden, Greenwich Park, 1859 (E,1.1)."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 61]
"Trial Proofs: (b) The plate reduced as above. [Above: The plate measures 5 7/8 in. w. by 8 7/8 in h., 'F.S. Haden, Greenwich Park, 1859.' Three impressions only. Coll. Lenox Library, New York.']"
[Source: Harrington, p. 9]
*inscription barely legible on this impression
Artwork Details
- Title: Sub Tegmine...
- Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
- Date: 1859
- Medium: Etching and drypoint; trial proof b (Harrington); first state of five (Schneiderman)
- Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed): 6 in. × 5 7/8 in. (15.3 × 15 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.276
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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