William Barrett, Socrates Memento Mori Cartouche Design – 1750 watercolour

William Barrett Socrates Memento Mori Cartouche Design

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View the full Collection: Barrett, William (1733–1789)

An original 1750 watercolour painting, William Barrett, Socrates Memento Mori Cartouche Design.

This unusual cartouche design, dated 1750, is by the English antiquary and surgeon William Barrett (1733–1789). The image meditates elegantly on the theme of Memento Mori—with the Greek philosopher Socrates in the centre surrounded by two skeletons amidst a decorative rococo cartouche. The skeletons function as a reminder of our own mortality, a timeless subject addressed by artists and traceable back to Socrates and his belief in the importance of contemplating one's own death. The composition is also a sumptuous example of fluid and scrolling rococo design, with a touch of the grotesque.

Barrett is best known for his book 'The History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol', 1789, which he illustrated with copper-plate engravings and opens with a cartouche design similar in style to the present drawing.

In grisaille wash on laid paper. Laid down on backing paper.

William Barrett (1733–1789)

William Barrett (1733–1789) was born in 1733 at Notton, Wiltshire. He qualified as a surgeon in 1755 and settled in Bristol to practice his profession. In 1775 he became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. His work as an antiquary found form in the publication 'The History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol', 1789. In researching the book Barrett made the acquaintance of the forger Thomas Chatterton, and many of Chatterton's fabrications were to make their way into Barrett's 'History'. As a result, Barrett's reputation was severely damaged.