Maurice Greiffenhagen 1904 Mixed Media Illustration for "The Grey Cloak"

Item Details

Maurice Greiffenhagen (British; 1862-1931)
Untitled, 1904
Mixed Media Illustration for The Grey Cloak, Chapter XXXI
14.25’ W x 21.25’ H

A mixed media illustration on paperboard for Harold MacGrath’s novel_The Grey Cloak_ (1903) by British portraitist and illustrator Maurice Greiffenhagen (1862–1931), created in 1904. Comprised of charcoal, wash, and gouache, this grisaille composition features a gathering of men in front of a hut, with their rapiers in hand. The vicomte twists his mustache as he approaches the hut, and his opponent, Monsieur D’Hérouville, lies slain in the grass behind him. Handwritten inscriptions to the lower margin indicate that the illustration was executed for chapter 31 of The Grey Cloak, with an excerpt that reads ‘It was the end – He shut his eyes’. In 1904, The Grey Cloak was serialized in the British newspaper The Sphere – one of several periodicals that published Greiffenhagen’s illustrations. The work is signed and dated to the lower left; it is presented under a glass panel and remains unframed.

Beginning in 1878, Maurice Greiffenhagen attended the Royal Academy of Arts where he acquired several awards. He was highly influenced by the Venetians and the Pre-Raphaelites, particularly the work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He is primarily recognized for his illustrations produced for numerous books, magazines, and periodicals, such as H. Rider Haggard’s novels, The Windsor Magazine, and The Illustrated London News, to name a few. His work has been collected by numerous institutions including the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate collection, and the Walker Art Gallery, among others.

Condition

- to fair; wear from age; wear includes foxing and stains throughout paper; small tears, perforations, and wrinkles along paper edges; toning throughout.

Dimensions

- measurement of glass panel; paper measures approximately 14.25" W x 21.25" H.

Item #

18DCC083-148