Strickland Lowry
, English, 1737-c.1785
Title
Trompe L'Oeil (The Spartan Boy)Dateafter 1775
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
64 x 51 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1970
Object numberNGI.4007
Exhibition HistoryShades of Grey: Painting without Colour, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 22 June - 29 September 2013Label TextThis curious trompe l'œil of an engraving pinned to a wooden wall may be a companion piece to NGI.4008, as the dimensions, style and technique of the pictures are very similar, and the media identical. In this case Lowry has copied a mezzotint after Nathaniel Hone's painting The Spartan Boy (private collection), which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1775. Small-scale trompe l'œil paintings in oils, in which artists demonstrated their technical virtuosity, had been popular in European art since the sixteenth century.