- Title:
The Seven Ages of Man: The Soldier, 'As You Like It,' II, vii
- Former Title(s):
The seven ages of man, from Shakespeare 4th ------ "Then the soldier,/Seeking the bubble reputation,/ Even in the cannon's mouth." [1798, Royal Academy of Arts, London, exhibition catalogue]
- Date:
- between 1798 and 1801
- Medium:
- Oil on panel
- Dimensions:
- 15 x 19 7/8 inches (38.1 x 50.5 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Label on verso, lower center: “[handwritten, underlined] The Seven Ages of Man, from Shakespeare. | Oil Painting by Richard Smirke R.A. | (1752-1825) | 1 of a set of | [...] | [En?]graved for | [...] | Gallery | (typed) P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. Ltd. | (Established 1760.) | Experts, Valuers and Dealers | Paintings, Drawings, Engravings, Etchings | By the | Old And Modern Masters. | 14, Old Bond Street, London, W.1. | Telegrams: Colnaghi, Piccy, London | Telephone: Hyde Park 1943-44.”; lower right: “Smirke exhibited [italics] The Seven Ages of Man, [non italics] R.A. 1798, | No. 88, but Graves, [italics] The Royal Academy Exhibitors 1769- | 1904, [non italics] Vol. VII, p. 163, suggests the possibility that it was | not this set, but the subjects painted again in one picture. | The paintings of the Shakespeare Gallery constituted the | Great Prize in Boydell’s Lottery (28th January, 1805), which | was won by William Tassie (see [italics] The Farington Diary, [non italics] 8th | February, 1805). The whole collection was sold by Tassie | [...] [italics] The Seven Ages [non italics] were bought by”; upper left: “No. 60781 | Frame”; upper left: “No. 60782 | [handwritten] K [typed] Picture [handwritten] 75”
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund
- Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Accession Number:
- B1975.5.11
- Classification:
- Paintings
- Collection:
- Paintings and Sculpture
- Link to Frame:
- B1975.5.11FR
- Subject Terms:
- actor | As You Like It, play by William Shakespeare | battle | cannons | costume | fire | flag | literary theme | men | performance | pose | smoke | soldiers | theater (discipline)
- Associated People:
- Shakespeare, William (1564–1616), playwright and poet
- Access:
- Not on view
Note: To make an appointment to see this work, please contact the Paintings and Sculpture department at ycba.paintings@yale.edu. Please visit the Paintings and Sculpture collections page on our website for more details. - Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:221
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Shakespeare and British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 1981-04-23 - 1981-07-05) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
Geoffrey Ashton, Shakespeare and British Art, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1981, pp. 44, 99, no. 114, PR2933 Y25 A74 c.1 (YCBA) [YCBA]
Malcolm Cormack, Concise Catalogue of Paintings in the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1985, pp. 206-207, N590.2 A83 (YCBA) [YCBA]