Pre-Raphaelite watercolour

@steve lunn thanks, ok, after seeing closeups of the frame, now I don't think the frame is new either. If you can give us some close ups of the painting's surface not under the glass, we may be able to tell more about it...

Please click "Full Size" when you post your photos, you may be able to return to edit the post above here..

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll try that tomorrow and see how we go

 

Here goes, lots of pics, hope they are useful. Support paper is detached from frame on 3 sides so I've shown behind it. I think the backing frame is either Birch or Poplar, both fairly stable hardwoods with a fine even grain.

 

@steve lunn please click "Full Size" on your photos so they can be easily viewed.

I'm not sure this is waterbased paint. There appears to be white gesso (?) beneath the top layer of colors..? I've not seen this done for a gouache painting before, but not impossible. The color that looks most like gouache is the white. Do not test the white, it is too visible in the center.

The very first photos you posted make it appear to be unvarnished oil. Please damp swab it in an unnoticeable area on the edge that will not show, to see if any color comes off on a damp q-tip. This will confirm water based paint. If the darker colors won't come off, don't swab the lighter ones!

The paper loose from 3 sides shows PERFECTLY CLEAN boards beneath. I'm not sure how this stayed so clean from the day it was framed, but I think it's a really good frame job to make that possible. I want to call in some assistance here...

@James Conrad would you please take a look at this pristine wood and offer comment / suggestions as to the age and type of clear wood used? Would you please also take a look at the close ups of the frame, it's an original frame that modern day knockoffs are patterned from..

 

btw : steve, your latest photos are excellent, please edit your posts to click "Full Size" so others can most easily see your painting and frame details.

 

How do I edit?

 

View attachment 366694 View attachment 366694 I've managed today's but can't do anything to previous ones, I'll resend.

 

thanks, it does look MUCH MORE LIKE waterbased gouache paint, now that I can scroll up and down and study your photos. Think it's definitely painted on top of a thinset layer of gesso, does there appear to be white painted surface beneath - to you?

Please let me know if a damp q-tip or tissue can pull a small stain of paint from the edge, if you should want to confirm it to be water based gouache.

Thank you for taking your time to photograph it so thoroughly. The mount is interesting but not surprising. The cleanliness of the entire piece is surprising, but not unrealistic.

The painting and the frame do indeed look mid-1800s to me, I would categorize this as a late pre-raphaelite period piece. It has all of the elements of the period, a backstory, the heroine, a globe instead of a window or other light source... I do think you've got what you intended to purchase! I'd hang it and love it. I will continue to look for the artist for you, if possible, similar painting styles.

Please check back for others to weigh in on your beautiful painting!

 

Do you perhaps mean early Pre-Raphaelite? I ask because the Brotherhood was established in the mid-1800s (1849 to be precise which is considered the early Victorian period.) To my eye, the sitter's hair style is late Victorian. Here's a photograph of Dorothy Dene wearing something similar.

 

Yes mid 1800s all looks correct to me for it, thank you Debora

 

Hi, Thankyou so much for your continued interest and comments. I will try a small area for watercolour testing today and let you know, I'll be very careful!! I am getting better at the photos and uploading and enjoying the complete experience of the investigation and I will continue on with trying to identify the artist, Archibald Wakely 'A Royal Princess' is the lastest person of interest, he did many watercolours in his short tragic life.

 

The composition is not dissimilar but not sure I see any other similarities. Why don't you compare the technique used to paint the rose bouquet in your work with Wakely's roses? That might be helpful.

Debora

 

Thanks Debora, I'll see if I can get an up close view of his work

 

Just swipe a small line on the very edge, see if you see ANY colors at all to show it's waterbased paint.

Debora's idea of rose flower painting comparison is excellent suggestion.

I've looked at a lot of paintings online that appear to have Dean as the model.

I doubt yours to be by Wakely, yours is flatter in dimensional technique than his.