Today I again received the unsettling news that my art has not been selected by the Royal Academy. It is disheartening because I spent six long months working on my submission, and I aspire so greatly to become a prosperous artist. As I walked up to the office to look at the names all I could imagine was mailing Vincent and telling him the wonderful news. How glad he would be for me, surely he would come home immediately to share in my excitement. In my disappointment, I took a walk and ended up at The British Museum. They have the most beautiful pieces of art there, and it inspired me greatly. They had this sketch of Laocoön that I just loved, how I aspire to be that great of an artist. The shading was perfect and the detail on his face was wonderful. I know I can do it, it’s just going to take years of practice and I’m not going to give up. By the by, while I was staring up at this Laocoön, I decided to sit down and make a small sketch of my own taking note of things I can do differently for my next submission to the Royal Academy. This time I have left out Laocoön’s sons in an attempt to focus solely on the main subject. Having one main subject is something my time at the Art School has taught me. I’ve really tried to focus on my shading as Mr. Jackson suggested. He really is a wonderful man that Mr. Jackson. And, my, he is so good at art. He was selected by the Royal Academy and I hope to someday soon have the same luck as him.
Editor Commentary: The author of this Commonplace book seems like a truly dedicated artist, however, it is apparent in her entry that her mind is in other places. She speaks with a great deal of enthusiasm about Vincent who the author makes out to be a love interest. She appears to be focused more on him than her artwork and subsequent denial in this entry. This suggests that she was one of those women stuck in the transitional period of the Victorian era who struggled between focusing on themselves or romantic relationships. During the time this commonplace book was written, due to the changes in societal standards many women had a difficult time deciding whether to concentrate their energy on finding a husband and starting a family or on pursuing a career.
The author appears to have a sole aspiration of having her work admitted to the Royal Academy. Her writing shows that she has been through the process many times and has not given up which is uncharacteristic of women during the Victorian Era. Despite being rejected multiple times, women of the Victorian period saw being an artist as an acceptable career for women. The author would appear to believe that working as an artist would allow her to provide for her family in a way that would please society.
The choice of Laocoön as the author’s muse is interesting. Unlike how art might have been viewed as womanly, Greek mythology was not. In fact, many women were not even taught Greek mythology as part of their education. If the author of this commonplace book was taught Greek mythology it is unlikely that she would have been exposed to Laocoön, making it an odd choice. It is more common to see a woman of the Victorian Era take inspiration from Goddess such as Athena or Aphrodite. If this was not a decision of the author it most likely came from higher-ups of the Royal Academy and would indicate a preference for males and the patriarchal control of all aspects of society, including art.
Citation:
Dixon, Ella Hepworth. The Story of a Modern Woman. 1894. COVE, 2020.
“Use This Image 889019001: British Museum.” The British Museum, www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/889019001.