King of the Gypsies

Artist Arthur Melville (Guthrie, Angus, Scotland, 1855 - 1904)

Date1891

Mediumwatercolour on paper

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsHeight: 49.7 cm, Width: 32.3 cm
Frame Size: 76.3 × 64.8 × 2.1cm

AcquisitionThe Leslie Thomson Bequest.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG003856

Keywords

About MeArthur Melville trained at Edinburgh College of Art and he became a pioneer of modern watercolour technique, moving away from the minute precision of the academic Victorian watercolour artists and returning to the earlier, pre-Victorian style of rapid washes that are full of luminosity.

Melville spent much time in the south of Spain and this sketch was painted in Granada, Andalusia. The portrait represents the king of the gypsies and, perhaps in consequence of his status, the pose recalls regal portraits by old masters such as Van Dyck and Velasquez.
More About Me

Collections Wall

Arthur Melville became a pioneer of modern watercolour technique, using the pre-Victorian style of rapid washes that are full of luminosity.