"The Child in the World" by Thomas Cooper Gotch (1854-1931)

The Child in the World

Thomas Cooper Gotch (1854-1931)

1900

Watercolour

7 1/2 x 9 inches

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Commentary by Rupert Maas

Gotch was working on this subject in 1895 and different versions exist in oil, pencil and water-colour. This appears to be the most highly finished. The subject is a representation of innocence and experience.

Gotch explained it as the child "standing alone and unafraid in the innermost, horridest home of the Dragon, called the World, who is powerless against her innocence". The model for the child was his daughter Phyllis. The oil version was exhibited at the New Gallery in 1895, being judged too radical for the Royal Academy. It received mixed reviews, for some critics thought the dragon more suited to pantomime than fear-inspiring. This irked Gotch who had spent a substantial amount of time researching the dragon in books on heraldry.

References

Lomax, Pamela. The Golden Dream: A Biography of Thomas Cooper Gotch. Bristol: Sansom & Company, 2004; pp. 105-106

The Maas Gallery. Exhibition catalogue. London, 2007. Catalogue no. 61.

Last modified 23 June 2007