Frederick Richard Pickersgill RA, The Bribe

The Bribe, 1857

Frederick Richard Pickersgill RA (1820 - 1900)

RA Collection: Art

When it was first exhibited at the Academy in 1858, Pickersgill's diploma work was accompanied by the following quotation from a Spanish ballad:

'She tempted the Alcaydé with her jewels and her gold,

And unto her his prisoner that jailer false hath sold.'

The subject of the picture allows the artist to contrast the soft drapery of the woman's green dress with the shiny armour of the gaoler, as well as youth with age, and to demonstrate his skills in the meticulous painting of the casket of jewels. Pickersgill's use of strong colour shows the influence of Titian and other old masters of 16th-century Venice.

Object details

Title
The Bribe
Artist/designer
Date
1857
Object type
Painting
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions

769 mm x 642 mm x 14 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
03/379
Acquisition
Diploma Work given by Frederick Richard Pickersgill RA accepted 1857

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