id: 144656 accession number: 1969.28.a share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.28.a updated: Woman Standing among the Friars (recto), c. 1770–75. John Brown (British, 1752–1787). Graphite and gray and black wash with point of brush; image: 25.8 x 36.9 cm (10 3/16 x 14 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund 1969.28.a title: Woman Standing among the Friars (recto) title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1770–75 creation date earliest: 1765 creation date latest: 1780 current location: creditline: Dudley P. Allen Fund copyright: --- culture: England, 18th century technique: graphite and gray and black wash with point of brush department: Drawings collection: DR - British type: Drawing find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * John Brown (British, 1752–1787) - artist --- measurements: Image: 25.8 x 36.9 cm (10 3/16 x 14 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The Poetical Circle: Fuseli and the British opening date: 1979-04-24T05:00:00 The Poetical Circle: Fuseli and the British. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (April 24-May 27, 1979); Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Austria (June 5-July 29, 1979); Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (organizer) (September 1-27, 1979); Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand (October 24-November 25, 1979). title: Art in Rome in the Eighteenth Century opening date: 2000-02-27T00:00:00 Art in Rome in the Eighteenth Century. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (organizer) (February 27-May 21, 2000); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (June 17-September 17, 2000). title: British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art opening date: 2013-02-10T00:00:00 British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art . The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2013). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE John Brown (1752-1787) date: footnotes: citations: William Young Ottley, London, England date: footnotes: citations: Sir Thomas Lawrence, London, England date: footnotes: citations: (Christie's), purchased by Russell date: June 17, 1830 footnotes: citations: Russell date: footnotes: citations: Private Collection, Paris, France date: footnotes: citations: (E.V. Thaw and Co., New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: ?-1969 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: January 22, 1969- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: John Brown meant for the dark background of this drawing to evoke the potential danger of Italian nights; the writer Johann Joachim Winckelmann had been murdered in Trieste in 1768, in the most conspicuous example of the period's widespread violence. digital description: John Brown is known for a small group of monochromatic drawings imbued with sinister overtones. At the age of 20, the Scottish artist traveled to Italy where he spent the next 12 years. This drawing exemplifies his Roman street scenes which often depict women dressed in spectacular, billowing costumes. Here, a figure with bare ankles and plunging décolletage is surrounded by a crowd of men who leer at her. The reverse of the sketchbook sheet includes two independent drawings: a study of faces in fierce and intense expressions, and a pair of women wearing swirling gowns. One figure raises her hand in a mysterious gesture, either beckoning or forewarning the viewer. wall description: A beguiling artist with a brief career, Brown is known for a small group of monochromatic drawings imbued with sinister overtones. At the age of 20, the Scottish artist traveled to Italy where he spent the next 12 years. This drawing exemplifies his Roman street scenes which often depict women dressed in spectacular, billowing costumes. Here, a coquette with bare ankles and plunging décolletage is surrounded by a crowd of vulgar types who leer, ogle, judge, and scorn. The reverse of the sketchbook sheet includes two independent drawings: a study of faces in fierce and intense expressions, and a pair of women wearing swirling gowns. One figure raises her hand in a mysterious gesture that casts a shadow on her throat resembling a claw. Whether the viewer is being beckoned or forewarned remains a mystery. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Lemonedes, Heather. British Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. page number: Cat 4, pg 28-29 url: Bowron, Edgar Peters, and Joseph J. Rishel. Art in Rome in the Eighteenth Century. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, in association with Merrell, 2000. page number: exh. cat. no. 323, p. 480 url: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 194 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n214 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.28.a/1969.28.a_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.28.a/1969.28.a_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.28.a/1969.28.a_full.tif