The Bookworm, by Henry Stacy Marks R.A., R.W.S., H.R.C.A. (1829-1898). 1871. Oil on canvas. 34 1/8 x 57 1/8 inches (86.7 x 145.1 cm). Private collection. © Christie's, by kind permission (right click disabled; not to be downloaded).
Marks exhibited The Bookworm at the Royal Academy in 1871, no. 149. It was painted to go above the fireplace in the library at Crewe Hall in Cheshire. Marks himself described the genesis of the commission in his book Pen and Pencil Sketches: "My picture of The Bookworm, exhibited at the Academy in 1871, was painted for the library at Crewe Hall, and formed a panel over the mantelpiece - it is less decorative than pictorial. Lord Crewe had previously given me a commission for six panels of the 'Virtues' - Truth, Temperance, Humility, &c. (sarcastic friends naturally remarked that the 'Vices' would be more in my line"(209).
When the picture was shown at the Royal Academy it was widely and largely favourably reviewed. Its success, in fact, helped ensure Marks's election as an associate of the Royal Academy that same year. F. G. Stephens admired the painting sufficiently that he reviewed the painting three times in The Athenauem, once even prior to its exhibition. In his "Fine-Art Gossip" columns he remarked: "Mr. Marks will probably contribute to the Royal Academy Exhibition a picture styled A Bookworm, and representing one of the scientific variety of that genus pursuing osteological studies with characteristic fervour" (87). When the work was shown at the Royal Academy Stephens described it briefly as "his best picture" (533) in his initial review but expanded on his admiration for the picture in his fourth review of the Royal Academy exhibition
:No painter has this year made so great a step in advance as Mr. Marks in The Bookworm (No. 149), executed for the Library at Crewe Hall, which has been lately rebuilt after a fire. Although while it was yet unfinished we briefly described the design of this picture, we may do so again. It represents an old, hale man, in the costume of the latter part of the seventeenth century, seated in an ancient and large room, which is enriched with a multitude of materials for diverse studies – skeletons, stuffed and bottled "specimens," books, instruments of quaint but not outlandish shapes, globes, tools, and the like. It is an obvious objection to this picture that the student is shown by his surroundings to be rather a naturalist than a bibliomaniac. On the other hand, it is best to declare that the error is in the title, not in the work, which is completely in keeping with itself, and an admirable representation of a student, poring over a book in a sun-lit room, while it is spring without, and the hues of the stained glass in the window are more gorgeous than usual in the clear and brilliant day; sunlight floods the room, yet it has not roused the reader, who bends over his book and neglects the luncheon, which shares a large table with the litter of learning. The face and expression of the gentleman leave nothing to be desired; the picture is warmer in colour and less hard that many of Mr. Marks's productions have been. The painting is unexceptionally enjoyable, and, in general, admirable. [626-27]
The critic of The Art Journal praised the work for its faithful depiction of a scene well suited for its purpose: "The Bookworm (149), by H. S. Marks, one of the recent elections, is a work well suited for its destination in the library of Crewe Hall. The old fellow, who would appear as much the naturalist as the "bookworm," is lost in profound investigations. The table is crowded with strange-looking skeletons, as if this student were a disciple of Darwin. Quiet satire lurks in the picture, and yet the story is told with as much verisimilitude and circumstantial detail, that the eye seems to rest not on a fiction, but on a grave reality. The composition is well kept together; the execution is even solid; the brush does not show itself: it is not paint or canvas that the spectator looks upon, the very room, as it were, is put within the frame" (153).
The Spectator liked both the subject and Marks's handling of paint:
A reviewer for The Biograph and Review felt the painting was well suited for its purpose: "In the same year [1871] was exhibited his picture of the Bookworm, specially designed and painted for the panel of the new library chimney piece in Crewe Hall, and well calculated to reward a close inspection of its various and multitudinous details. The old bookworm sits in his library, surrounded by a chaotic mass of stuffed birds and beasts, skeletons and old books, absorbed in his work, his meal beside him untouched, and as unnoticed as the sunshine without" (389).
Tom Taylor in The Times was particularly fulsome in his praise:
"Mr. H. S. Marks, whom we are glad to welcome to his well-won Associateship, has painted for a panel above the fireplace of the picturesque and stately library at Crewe-hall [sic], an appropriate picture, which he calls, The Bookworm (149), but which looks rather like a naturalist. The old sage, in black skull cap, reading gown, and slippers, sits absorbed in his book, amid a chaos of volumes and specimens, indicating a vast range of studies, geographical, ornithological, entomological, zoological, and geological. All this learned litter is painted with the utmost exactness, but with a studied arrangement of forms and colours underlying the apparent confusion, which makes the picture pleasant to the eye, while there is endless amusement in making out all sorts of pleasant plays of fancy and intention in the choice and juxtaposition of the elements of this litter, among which there is hardly room for the untasted luncheon which stands unregarded, seemingly, by the old sage as the foliage and sunny sky outside the window, in which the live birds are revelling. What room is there for living nature and its needs in that head so intently occupied on dead thoughts and dead things? [12]
The reviewer for The Architect was one of the few critics to express reservations about this painting, considering it primarily a catalogue of studio props: The Book-worm, by Mr. H. S. Marks, is surely a misnomer. It is rather a picture of a naturalist surrounded by all kinds of birds, and having books merely as helps in the way of reference. This picture is too much of a pictorial catalogue; the artist has introduced into it all the 'properties' in his studio. Its literary analogue would be an article by Mr. G. A. Sala, who, if he had to speak of an accident to a penny steamer, would commence with vessels of all nations, from Noah's ark to the latest thing in naval architecture" (259).
An original study for The Bookworm in watercolour was exhibited at the Society of British Artists in 1872, no. 644.
Link to Related Material
- John Everett Millais's The Ruling Passion (a different treatment of single-minded absorption)
Bibliography
"Art. The Royal Academy." The Spectator XLIV (10 June 1871): 704-05.
"Henry Stacy Marks, R.A." The Biograph and Review IV (November 1880): 387-391.
Marks, Henry Stacy. Pen and Pencil Sketches. 1894, Vol. I.
"Pictures for the Forthcoming Academy Exhibitions. The Illustrated London News LVIII (8 April 1871): 346.
"The Royal Academy." The Architect V (20 May 1871): 258-59.
"The Royal Academy." The Art Journal New Series X (1 June 1871): 149-54.
Stephens, Frederic George. "Fine-Art Gossip." The Athenaeum No. 2256 (January 21, 1871): 87.
Stephens, Frederic George. "Fine Arts. The Royal Academy." The Athenaeum No. 2270 (29 April 1871): 531-33.
Stephens, Frederic George. "Fine Arts. The Royal Academy." The Athenaeum No. 2273 (20 May 1871): 626-29.
Taylor, Tom. "The Royal Academy Exhibition." The Times (29 April 1871): 12.
Victorian Pictures. London: Christie's (13 June 2000): lot 35. https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-1820759
Created 24 October 2023