The Devout Childhood of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

between 1851 and 1852

Charles Allston Collins British, 1828-1873

On View

British, Level 3, South Wing

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About the Artwork

Although never a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Charles Allston Collins adhered to their stated mission of selecting subjects that conveyed “heartfelt” ideas rendered through the close study of nature. Here, he portrays the exemplary piety of Elizabeth of Hungary, who, when arriving at the church before the priests had opened the door, fell to her knees at the threshold to begin her devotions. While the story of the thirteenth-century saint derives from Alban Butler’s The Lives of the Saints (1756–59), the visual details—from the wooden door’s grain to the shot silk dress—reflect Collins’s accurate observations of his visual world. He also adopted the arduous Pre-Raphaelite practice of painting on a white wet ground to heighten his brilliant colors. Collins’s career was brief; his failure to attract clients prompted him to turn to writing, but he was overshadowed by the success of his novelist brother Wilkie Collins.

From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title The Devout Childhood of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Artwork Date between 1851 and 1852

Artist Charles Allston Collins

Life Dates 1828-1873

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. British

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Overall: 35 3/4 × 23 3/4 inches (90.8 × 60.3 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Painting

Credit Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2015.29

Markings

Signed Signed and dated: [artist's monogram] CA Collins 1852

Provenance

1853, sold by the artist to Francis McCracken (Belfast, Northern Ireland);
1855, sold by (Christie's) to a Mr. Watkins.
1950, sold to Oscar Dahlberg (Stockholm, Sweden);
by descent to his daughter, Gunvor Inga-Britt (Dahlberg) Tiburzi (Florida, USA);
2014, by descent to her estate.
2015, (Jeremy Maas, The Maas Gallery, London, United Kingdom);
2015-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA: Notable Acquisitions, 2000–2015 89, no. 1/4 (2015): p. 95 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Charles Allston Collins, The Devout Childhood of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, between 1851 and 1852, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, 2015.29.