Paintings, Prints & Drawings — 1764
A City Shower
As a young maid vigorously shakes her mop, she sprays a foppish passer-by with water. The girl is seemingly oblivious as he recoils in dismay.
This painting alludes to a passage in the poem 'A Description of a City Shower' by Jonathan Swift which was published in 1710: 'Such is that sprinkling which some careless Quean/ Flirts on you from her Mop, but not so clean / You fly, invoke the Gods; then turning, stop / To rail; she singing, still whirls on her Mop...'
Edward Penny has meticulously recorded details of the street's architecture as well as the dress and accessories of the two figures. A founding member of the Royal Academy, Penny became its first Professor of Painting in 1769.
- Category:
- Paintings, Prints & Drawings
- Object ID:
- 88.126
- Object name:
- A City Shower
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- Penny, Edward
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1764
- Material:
oil, canvas, wood
- Measurements/duration:
- H 765 mm, W 640 mm (unframed), H 950 mm, W 830 mm, D 75 mm (framed)
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
Purchased with the assistance of ACE/ V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Art Fund
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.