Victorian Sentimental Prints, Drawings & Watercolours
'The Momentous Question', watercolour by Sarah Setchel, exhibited 1842. Museum no. 983-1900. Bequeathed by Henry Vaughan
Sentimental subjects span many genres of artistic expression, from highly finished exhibition watercolours to music sheet covers. In Victorian England these scenes of tender feeling became associated with the domestic sphere, as they were ideal for display in family rooms and traditionally female spaces such as the parlour. The popularity of sentimental pictures coincided with technological innovations in the print trade. This meant that images could be produced quickly and cheaply to maximise profit, thus opening the image market to a greater audience. Many works had mass appeal and were used in periodicals and advertising. This unashamed commercialism contributed to the reputation of sentiment as an expression of insincere emotion, and the popularity of such pictures was bound up in questions of taste.
The scene in Sarah Setchel's 'The Momentous Question' has been taken from the poem Tales of the Hall (1819) by George Crabbe. A poacher facing the death penalty has the chance of a reprieve if he permits his betrothed to marry his brother. This image gained great popularity as an engraving.
Love
Love is an obvious subject for the sentimental image. Rejection and disappointed love, especially that experienced by women, were themes that tugged at the heart-strings, and many of the artists were women themselves. Love was also exploited by the burgeoning trade in valentine cards and music sheet covers. Feelings could be easily represented through popular signs and symbols. The motif of the letter, the language of flowers, and the power of the downcast eye lent images an element of intrigue and mystery.
Nature, the Seasons and the Passing of Time
There was a great vogue in the 19th century for images that depicted idealised rustic or seasonal settings. This is often interpreted as an escapist response to the upheavals of urbanisation and industrialisation. Many Victorian artists also specialised in sentimental interpretations of the historical past, producing works that were emotionally resonant but rarely true to period. The concept of one's personal past also formed part of visual imagery, with a focus on the more poignant life events: birth, childhood, marriage and death.
Childhood
Paintings of children were thought to be intellectually undemanding and were often dismissed by critics. Yet some of the most acclaimed artists of the day took up the subject, and images of children proliferated across illustration and commercial graphics. The sentimentality and emotion of these pictures centre on a new, 19th -century conception of childhood as an innocent, separate state to be shielded and prolonged. They seek a protective, affectionate pang from the viewer and evoke nostalgia for the inevitably fleeting nature of childhood.
Death
Death was highly visible in Victorian culture. It was a time for communal feeling, studied response and ritual. People were encouraged to give public expression to their grief, and an industry of mourning dress and mementoes provided visible reminders of the dead. Texts, songs and objects used images to sentimentalise and codify death and mourning. Deathbed scenes moralised the 'ideal' deaths of saintly characters too good for this world. For artists, untimely death and bereavement offered powerful opportunities to explore pathos.
Urban tragedy
Heart-tugging depictions of destitute, exploited and suicidal women became symbols of the evils of urbanisation. Many were designed to arouse pathos rather than present social reality. Some, indeed, come close to the borderline between sentimental feeling and the thrill of voyeurism. The women are young and beautiful - suffering heroines displaced from the protection of the family home, and there is often a hint that they are genteel women who have fallen on hard times. This, for middle class viewers, increased the poignancy.
Sentimental response
Sentimentality touched many forms of Victorian art and entertainment. The works in thissection depict books, songs and images that stimulated sentimental feelings, pushing the recipients to emotional peaks. This sharing of emotion was important in Victorian culture. Artists and writers repeated instantly recognisable motifs and conventions, creating an exchange of emotional supply and demand, and fostering a sense of communal feeling.
Become a V&A Member
V&A Members enjoy a wealth of benefits, including free entry to exhibitions, previews, exciting events and the V&A Members’ Room. In addition, you will be supporting the vital work of the V&A.
Buy or Renew Membership OnlineShop online
British Watercolours: 1750-1950
The art of watercolour has had a distinctive identity and history in Britain since the latter part of the eighteenth century, when British artists fir…
Buy nowEvent - Ruth Goodman: How to be a Victorian
Tue 01 October 2013 15:00
Popular historian Ruth Goodman is an expert on nineteenth-century social and domestic history and has presented a number of BBC television series, including Victorian Farm and Edwardian Farm, as well as being a regular presenter on The One Show.
Book online
