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A putto pursuing a butterfly

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- subject matching 'Nudes and naked figures'
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© National Portrait Gallery, London

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A putto pursuing a butterfly

by John Gibson
pencil, 1825
7 1/4 in. x 9 3/8 in. (184 mm x 238 mm)
Purchased, 1955
Primary Collection
NPG 3944(31)

Artistback to top

  • John Gibson (1790-1866), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 12 portraits, Sitter in 25 portraits.

This portraitback to top

In Rome, meeting places such as the Caffé Greco or Joseph Severn's spacious studio provided the members of the nascent academy with communal spaces in which to exchange ideas about art. Yet however seriously the resident artists conducted themselves, their artwork did not always depict serious or lofty subjects; they could also be trivial and humorous, inspired by these artists' Italian surroundings. This drawing, signed by the sculptor John Gibson, is a light-hearted picture showing a putto triumphantly capturing a giant butterfly. Classically inspired, drawn in outline, with a putto shown in profile, this design resembles a relief sculpture.

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Events of 1825back to top

Current affairs

Strikes, contract breaking and worker intimidation prompt the passing of a new Anti-Trade Union Combination Act to the dismay of economist John McCulloch, MP Joseph Hume and radical Francis Place who had worked for the repeal of the previous year.
Catholic Relief Bill is rejected by the House of Lords.

Art and science

Construction of Thames Tunnel begins under the direction of Marc Isambard Brunel.
Stockton to Darlington Railway, the world's first passenger system, opens.
William Hazlitt publishes The Spirit of the Age; twenty-five pen-portraits of his contemporaries in the world of literature, philosophy and politics.

International

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premieres in London.
John Quincy Adams is elected President of the United States.

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