Study for a plate from The Triumphs of Temper, in the 1796 Royal Engagements Pocket Book
c. 1795
Medium
Ink wash on paper
Dimensions
2.5 × 5 cm (1 × 2 in.)
Classification
ink or chalk wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
131217
Art Historical Context
Thomas Stothard (5–1834), a prolific English artist celebrated for his delicate illustrations and neoclassical scenes, created this intimate *Study for a plate from The Triumph of Temper* around 1795. Drawn for the 1796 *Royal Engagements Pocket Book—a fashionable almanac blending poetry, calendars, and art—this preparatory sketch captures the whimsical narrative of William Hayley's moralistic poem, which extols the virtues of emotional restraint through allegorical triumphs. Stothard's work graced many such pocket books, making high art accessible to Regency-era readers. Executed in ink wash...
About the Artist
Thomas Stothard · 1755–1834
Thomas Stothard RA (1755–1834) was born on 17 August 1755 at the Black Horse Inn in London's Long Acre, the son of a prosperous publican originally from Stutton near Tadcaster. A delicate child, he was sent at age five to relatives in Yorkshire, attending schools in Acomb, Tadcaster, and later Ilford, Essex, where he honed his drawing skills by copying prints. Following his father's death in 1770,...