A question of propriety
1870
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
175.2 × 275.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1871
Gallery location
19th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
The NGV commissioned this painting from Edwin Long, a painter of portraits and historical and biblical scenes, in 1870. The subject is taken from the Francesco Pacheco book Arte de la pintura (1638), which was later dramatised in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s play The Spanish Student (1843). It shows a gypsy dancer brought before the Spanish Inquisition on the charge of corrupting public morals. Captivated by her performance, the holy censors lean forward, their stern features softened with wonderment and pleasure.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in red paint l.r.: 18 70 / EDWIN LONG
Accession Number
p.302.15-1
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Literary and Text Performing Arts
Subjects (specific)
armour (protective wear) clergy dancers monks (people) morality Spanish Inquisition (Spanish judicial tribunal, 1478-1834) trials women (female humans)
Provenance
Commissioned from the artist, 1870; arrived Melbourne, 1871.
Exhibited: Second Interchange Loan Collection of Oil Paintings and Watercolour Drawings, Sydney 1896, no. 2, repr.; lent W. A. Centenary Celebrations, Perth, 1929; The First Fifty Years: 19th Century British Art from the Gallery Archives, NGV, Melbourne, 1992; Hidden Treasures, David Jones Gallery, Sydney, 1992.