William Charles Thomas Dobson RA RWS, British 1817-1898- Children’s Children are the Crown of Old Men; oil on canvas, signed with monogram and dated '1875' (lower left), 121 x 90.5 cm. Provenance: Collection J. Carolus Stirling Esq (until 1876)...

William Charles Thomas Dobson RA RWS, British 1817-1898- Children’s Children are the Crown of Old Men; oil on canvas, signed with monogram and dated '1875' (lower left), 121 x 90.5 cm. Provenance: Collection J. Carolus Stirling Esq (until 1876). Exhibited: London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1875, no.226.; Philadelphia, United States Centennial Commission, International Exhibition, 1876, no.34. Note: The present work recalls the religious paintings of the Italian Renaissance, and its composition, with figures clothed in biblical costume, demonstrates the influence of the Nazarene school, with which Dobson came into contact whilst travelling around Italy and Germany in the 1840s and 1850s. Indeed, after returning to Britain from his travels, Dobson primarily focused on religious depictions, as well as the innocence of children - usually in an idealised manner. The title of this work, from a verse in Proverbs 17:6, depicts a mother presenting her children to her own father.