39/2004

Collection

Paintings, Prints and Drawings

Brief description

Interior of a parlour with seated man smoking, oil on canvas, signed by John Edward Soden, 1862, in an ebonised pine frame with gilded sight edge, possibly twentieth century.

Title

Man smoking in a parlour
Smoking by the Fireside

Object name

painting
oil painting

Object number

39/2004

Location

On Display

Production person

John Edward Soden (artist)

Production date

1862 (painted)

Production place

England (painted)

Period

Victorian (1837-1901)

Material

oil paint
canvas

Technique

painted

Physical description

Oil painting on canvas in an ebonised pine picture frame with a gilded sight edge.

Content description

This painting depicts a man smoking in a parlour or drawing room. The man is shown lounging in a red upholstered armchair smoking a clay pipe with one leg resting on the fender and the other slung over the arm of the chair. To the left of the picture is a round table, covered with a deep tablecloth, on which a vase of flowers, a small silver tobacco box and a volume entitled 'The Turf' have been placed. To the right there is a fireplace equipped with fire irons and a highly polished fender. The room is decorated with a patterned carpet and a pink wallpaper with a decorative border. A window dressed with a slatted blind and net curtains can be seen in the background and various pieces of furniture, paintings and ornaments are disposed around the room. In the foreground an empty pewter tankard and playing cards lie discarded on the carpet and a newspaper is draped over an overturned footstool. The painting is signed and dated on the stamped envelope, which is shown lying on the carpet beside the fender at the bottom right corner.

Dimensions

Height: 30cm
Width: 35.5cm
Height: 36.3cm
Width: 42.2cm

Website keywords

serving drink
smoking
floor treatments
furniture
ornaments
pictures
wall treatments
window treatments
fireplaces
fire tools
reading

Rights note

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