Rivalry, by William Cave Thomas (1820-1896). Wood engraving by Henry Linton after the original painting, published in The Illustrated Times, 12 September 1857. 8 5/8 × 9 11/16 inches (21.9 × 24.6 cm). Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum, New York.
Rivalry was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1855, no. 497. It portrays a rivalry as old as time itself, the jealousy of two gentlemen for a lady's affection. The man playing the lute has given one of the fair ladies flowers, which has angered his rival, almost to the point of violence.
A critic for The Art Journal felt Thomas was capable of better things in choosing his subject:
Rivalry. W. C. Thomas. The valuable qualities in this work had better graced a better subject. The story, as far as we can understand it, is superficial: there is no prospective or retrospective in the allusion. The scene lies in the street of an Italian city: the personae are, on the one part, two ladies; on the other, a party of cavaliers, one of whom offers to one of the ladies a flower, at which another of the gentleman, incensed, is about to attack the gallant, and is in the act of drawing his sword, but is restrained by his friends. The casts of feature are not handsome, but they are expressive; the draperies are unexceptionable; and the argument, as far as it goes, is clearly laid down; but, as to story, the artist is capable of better things. [179]
The reviewer for The Builder made much the same criticism: "Rivalry, Mr. W. C. Thomas, is original in a certain severity of style that characterises it, but Mr. Thomas can more satisfactorily cope with higher themes" (230).
The Spectator praised both the painting and drawing found in this work: "Rivalry, by Mr. W. Cave Thomas, is replete with most highly-wrought and excellent painting – not to speak of drawing, which few English artists indeed can dispute against this gentleman. The subject has nothing of that abstruse turn which has interfered with popular appreciation of Mr. Thomas on former occasions, but there is still a coldness in the embodiment. The concealment of the principal lady's face, whether it please us or not, shows that he is above conforming to rule when he conceives that a departure from it will suit his purpose better" (555).
Note: The painting was the cause of some difficulty between Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown, as well as Thomas himself. On 20 May 1855, "Rossetti after much desultory conversation began abusing Cave Thomas's picture, but so spitefully & unfeelingly that at last I lost my temper & accused him of venom & spite & delighting to set friends against each other" (Brown 137). — Scott Thomas Buckle
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Bibliography
Brown, Ford Madox. The Diary of Ford Madox Brown. Ed. Virgina Surtees. London and New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981.
"Fine Arts. The Royal Academy Exhibition: General Subjects." The Spectator XXVIII (26 May 1855): 554-55.
Rivalry. Metropolitan Museum, New York. Web. 1 February 2024.
"The Royal Academy." The Art Journal New Series I (1 June 1855): 169-84.
"The Royal Academy." The Builder XIII (19 May 1855): 230.
Created 1 February 2024