Guarisco Gallery 2012

48 Shakespeare’s ‘TwelfthNight’ he title of Thomas Francis Dicksee’s work Olivia Unveiling to Viola refers to a scene from William Shakespeare’s play ‘Twelfth Night.’ The climactic moment he has depicted is a dra- matic scene in which the character Olivia re- veals her true self to Viola after having been in the guise of a gentleman. Dicksee paints her here as the essence of femininity—bejeweled in pearls with porcelain skin, delicate hands, and a playful smile indicating her pleasure in the surprise. Artists of the 19th century fre- quently drew on Shakespearean literature as a source for subject matter. Thomas F. Dicksee British, 1819-1895 Olivia Unveiling to Viola signed, d. 1879, o/c 30-1/4” x 24-3/4” (37-1/2” x 32-1/2” fr.) Exhibited: Birmingham Royal Society of Artists, 1879 Louis-Eugène Collin French, b. after 1859 Woman with Dove signed, o/c 30” x 25” 43” x 39” fr. T