Know Thy Self

Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Most likely a preliminary study for a never-realized history painting, Benjamin West’s wash drawing presents an allegorical vision of London’s Royal Academy of Arts, a professional artists’ organization founded in 1768, as a gathering of learned men from different epochs. Some figures wear classical togas, while others don contemporary wigs and robes. Additional references to enlightenment—including the bright spotlight in the composition’s center and the bust of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, in the background—symbolize the noble endeavors of the institution and its commitment to the classical tradition.
Caption
Benjamin West American, 1738–1820. Know Thy Self, 1768. Iron gall ink and washes, and oil impasto and washes on ivory, moderately thick, moderately textured laid paper., Sheet: 18 3/4 x 25 1/2 in. (47.6 x 64.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X1042.40. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, X1042.40_PS2.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Know Thy Self
Date
1768
Medium
Iron gall ink and washes, and oil impasto and washes on ivory, moderately thick, moderately textured laid paper.
Classification
Dimensions
Sheet: 18 3/4 x 25 1/2 in. (47.6 x 64.8 cm)
Signatures
Signed in ink on face of block at lower right: "Benjn. West 1768--"
Inscriptions
Inscribed in ink on face of block in center: "Know thy self"
Credit Line
Brooklyn Museum Collection
Accession Number
X1042.40
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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