Savoyard Hospitality
Date1888
Artist
Thomas Matthews Rooke
(British painter, 1842–1942)
MediumWatercolor and gouache on paper
Dimensions13 1/2 × 20 in. (34.3 × 50.8 cm)
frame: 22 × 28 3/8 in. (55.9 × 72.1 cm)
frame: 22 × 28 3/8 in. (55.9 × 72.1 cm)
Credit LineGift from The Forbes Collection, New York, 2012
Object number2012-49
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextThis painting depicts two well dressed travelers being offered food and rest in the rustic cottage of Savoyard peasants. The foreigners dominate the scene, but are closely observed by the various local inhabitants. Rooke was a loyal studio assistant to Edward Burne-Jones, who memorialized his experiences in diaries, published as Burne-Jones Talking (1982). This painting is executed in a mixture of watercolor and gouache (an opaque substance mixed with gum arabic), a combination of media favored by Burne-Jones himself.