The Brook (1829): Art, History and Details

The Brook (1829) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Edward Calvert (British, 1799–1883).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Calvert was so influenced by William Blake's wood engravings that The Sheep of His Pasture is directly based on an illustration for The Pastorals of Virgil. Calvert, however, even more than Blake, exploited the ability of wood engraving to achieve the most delicate detail, so astonishing in these miniatures. Calvert's subject matter originated from a vision of the golden age of pastoral innocence and abundance that has both Christian and classical overtones. The women in The Brook resemble figures carved on antique gems, and the tree stumps symbolize the transitory nature of life.

Object facts

• Title: The Brook
• Date: 1829
• Creator attribution: Edward Calvert (British, 1799–1883)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: wood engraving
• Collection: PR - Wood engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1929.173

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.