[?Emily Bronte] | Pencil drawing of Trajan's Arch, Ancona, 1835

[?Emily Bronte]

Pencil drawing entitled 'Ancona'

depicting the city's port with the Arch of Trajan and three ships at sail, indistinct pencil signature at lower left (perhaps "E. J. Br...."), captioned in pencil at lower centre ("1835 | Ancona"), and dated lower right ("November...."), on thick wove paper, unwatermarked, 285 x 225mm, extensively chipped at edges with some loss at lower right and tears to lower left with one fragment torn away, water staining

[with:] US newspaper cuttings of two articles on the Bronte sisters, 19th century (neither mentioning the current drawing) 

This drawing is based on an engraving by E. Finden after an original drawing of Trajan's Arch by Samuel Prout, published in Finden's Illustrations to Murray's Life and Works of Lord Byron (1833). If the date on the drawing is accurate then the drawing dates from just after Emily's return to Haworth after her brief stint at Roe Head School, where Charlotte was then teaching.

There are a number of reasons for connecting this drawing to Emily Bronte. The source is one that was available to her and her family: Emily Bronte's watercolour 'The North Wind' (Art of the Brontes, no. 325) is based on Finden's engraving of 'Ianthe', whilst other drawings from the same source copied by Charlotte Bronte include 'Santa Maura', 'the Bridge of Egripo', a view of Geneva, 'The Maid of Saragoza', and a portrait of Lady Jersey (Art of the Brontes, nos 96, 123, 125, 127, 128). The strong pencil markings and use of dark cross-hatching are also stylistically similar to known works by Emily Bronte, and the faded signature may be hers. However, no other detailed architectural drawings by Emily Bronte are known.

Emily Bronte was a much less prolific artist than either Charlotte or Branwell, and works by her are exceptionally rare on the market: we have no record of an auction sale of a drawing by her since 1980.

LITERATURE:

Alexander and Sellars, The Art of the Brontes (1995)

PROVENANCE:

Probably collected by Francis Smith (1834-1919), collector of Bronteana, latterly of San Antonio, Texas; Paul Woolman Adams (1894-1985), collector, of San Antonio, Texas; thence by descent