Richard RedgraveBritish, 1804–1888The Governess
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
London, United Kingdom
RoomPaintings, Room 82, The Edwin and Susan Davies Galleries
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
This picture was exhibited with the quotation: 'She sees no kind domestic visage here'. The position of governess was one of the few professions open to middle-class women of modest means, but it was often a lonely and difficult life because the social status of a governess was ambiguous. She was not a servant in the usual sense but nor was she on equal terms with the family who employed her. Here, the young woman holds a letter which has obviously stirred memories of home. It may be news of a death in her family - letters or cards with black borders were used to announce deaths. Redgrave had a personal interest in representing the life of a governess: his sister Jane was a governess and died young.
Read on
Redgrave painted an earlier version of this subject, The Poor Teacher, in 1843. this version was painted the following year, and altered at the request of the buyer, John Sheepshanks. In order to make the picture more cheerful, Redgrave added the scene of children (the governess's pupils) playing in the sunlit garden.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- FA.168[O]
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
