61/2005

Collection

Paintings, Prints and Drawings

Brief description

‘The Appointment’, a domestic scene with a woman reading a letter, oil on canvas, monogrammed by the artist Rebecca Solomon, 1861, in a gilded composition frame.

Title

The Appointment
The Love Letter

Object name

painting
oil painting

Object number

61/2005

Location

On Display

Production person

Rebecca Solomon (artist)

Production date

1861 (painted)

Period

Victorian (1837-1901)

Material

oil paint
canvas
composition

Technique

painted
gilded

Physical description

Oil on canvas painting in a gilded composition picture frame decorated with moulded ornament and shaped inlay. The frame has a gilt inlay with a semi-circular top.

Content description

This painting depicts a female figure standing before the hearth holding a letter. The mantel is covered with a plush fringed valance, with oriental ceramics and a mantel clock under a glass dome. The large ornate gilded mirror on the mantel allows the viewer to see further detail in the room, including gilt framed paintings and a large iron and glass light fitting. It also shows an open door with a stairwell visible in the distance, and the face of a male figure entering the room. The woman, who is dressed as though she has just returned home, is wearing black garments which suggest she may be in mourning. She also has a red cloth at her wrist and a white bonnet. There is a letter rack on the wall to the left of the composition.

Dimensions

Height: 54cm
Width: 41.7cm
Height: 75.9cm
Width: 63.9cm
Height: 52cm
Width: 41cm

Website keywords

writing equipment
doors
ornaments
pictures
textiles
staircases
wall treatments
images of rooms
fireplaces

Label

Label text for the digital interactive located in the Reading Room (September 2015- June 2017):

‘The Appointment’
By Rebecca Solomon
Oil on canvas, dated 1861

The woman in this painting is dressed in a black mourning gown and she holds a letter, possibly a bill. Her expression is not one of friendly greeting for her visitor who is reflected in the corner of the overmantel mirror. It is possible that ‘the appointment’ being kept here and referred to in the title is one to discuss money or business following a death.

Rights note

Painting is out of copyright.
The photograph is in copyright to the Museum of the Home