John Opie

Mary Wollstonecraft (Mrs William Godwin)

c.1790–1

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Not on display
Artist
John Opie 1761–1807
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Support: 759 x 638 mm
frame: 1005 x 875 x 130 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Purchased 1884
Reference
N01167

Display caption

The pioneering feminist Mary Wollstonecraft is shown as though distracted momentarily from her studies. The sombre colours of her costume and the cloistered, darkened setting convey a sense of seriousness Iand dedication.

Painting a woman in such a role would have been more controversial in an earlier age. It was generally thought that only wealthy men could possess intellectual power. By stressing universal human values, Sensibility inadvertently helped pave the way for claims that women – at least middle-class women – might have as much moral and mental strength as men.

Gallery label, September 2004

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