- Title:
- The Pensive Selima, "Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes, She saw; and purr'd applause..." (Design 9)
- Additional Title(s):
Verso: "Still had she gaz'd; but 'midst the tide..." (Design 10)
Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat- Part Of:
- Date:
- between 1797 and 1798
- Materials & Techniques:
- Watercolor with pen and black ink and graphite on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream wove paper with inlaid letterpress page
- Dimensions:
- Sheet: 16 1/2 x 12 3/4 inches (41.9 x 32.4 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Inscribed in gray ink upper right: "3"; in graphite center: "+"; on verso in gray ink upper left: "4"; in graphite center: "+"
Lettered on inlaid page: "ODE | On the Death of a | FAVORITE CAT | Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes. | 'TWAS on a lofty vase's side, | Where China's gayest art had dy'd | The azure flowers, that blow; | Demurest of the tabby kind, | The pensive Selima reclin'd, | Gaz'd on the lake below. | Her conscious tail her joy declar'd; | The fair round face, the snowy beard, | The velvet of her paws; | D4 Her"; Lettered on verso, on inlaid page: "50 ODE ON THE DEATH | Her coat, that with the tortoise vies, | Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes, | She saw; and purr'd applause. | Still had she gaz'd; but 'midst the tide | Two angel forms were seen to glide, | The Genii of the stream: | Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue, | Thro' richest purple to the view | Betray'd a golden gleam. | The hapless nymph with wonder saw: | A whisker first, and then a claw, | With many an ardent wish, | She stretch'd, in vain, to reach the prize. | What female heart can gold despise? | What cat's averse to fish? | Presump--"
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Accession Number:
- B1992.8.11(5)
- Classification:
- Drawings & Watercolors
- Collection:
- Prints and Drawings
- Subject Terms:
- cat (domestic cat) | children | fish | flowers (plants) | literary theme | scissors | text | vines | water | women
- Access:
- Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:3683
- Export:
- XML
- IIIF Manifest:
- JSON
Colin Cross, Blake revealed, William Blake : Discovery of a Masterwork , Observer, vol. 12, November 21, 1971, pp. 19-23, V 1245 Detached from Observer colour magazine [ORBIS]
John Russell, Blake the Craftsman, Art , Sunday Times, Issue no. 7749, December 12, 1971, p.27, Sunday Times Digital Archive [ORBIS]
Arnold Fawcus, Unknown Watercolours by William Blake, Illustrated London News, vol. 259, No. 6881, December 25, 1971, pp. 45-46, 49-51, Illustrated London News Historical Archive [ORBIS]
Arnold Fawcus, William Blake's Watercolour Designs Illustrating Gray's Poems - and Mr. Paul Mellon, Connoisseur, vol. 179,no. 719, January 1972, pp. 13, 14, fig. 3, N1 C75 + (YCBA) Another copy inckuded in Vertical File Collection : V 2335 [YCBA]