“The Symbol” by Sir Frank Dicksee, 1853

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The Symbol

Sir Frank Dicksee, 1853–1928

1907

Oil on canvas

“By permission of T. D. Galpin, Esq.”

“Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by?” — Lamentations 1:12. (text below the title)

Source: The 1886-87 Magazine of Art

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See commentary below

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Commentary from the Magazine of Art

In January, 1881, at the age of twenty-seven, Mr. Dicksee was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy, being then, as he still is, the youngest member. His election was followed by the exhibition the same year of his picture called "The Symbol," which is certainly one of bis finest works. As may be seen from the photogravure which we publish as a frontispiece, it represents a group of revellers in the gayest costumes coming through an archway in some old-world Italian town. The girls, beautiful in form and face, are disporting themselves in true Bacchanalian fashion, but the attention of the leader of the troupe, a gaily-dressed gallant, is suddenly arrested by an old man with a basket relics by the wayside, who holds up a crucifix for sale. The moral of this story is conveyed by the motto attached to the title, "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?" The writer of this article took the late William Eastlake to see this picture when it was in the artist's studio. Eastlake — a nephew of Sir Charles — was one of the keenest critics of the day. . . . On coming away from Mr. Dicksee's, after seeing this picture, he said, "I have seen nothing to approach that in colour and power in any of the studios I have visited. It reminds me of the work of the old Venetians." It is a curious fact, however, that Frank Dicksee did not visit Italy until after the production of this picture. [218-19]

Bibliography

Hodges, Sidney. “Mr. Frank Dicksee, A.R.A.” The Magazine of Art. 10 (November 1886-October 1887): 217-22, Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 21 October 2014.

Last modified 27 June 2020