"Eyes and No Eyes" by Frank Bramley (1857-1915)

Eyes and No Eyes

Frank Bramley, RA (1857-1915)

1887

Oil paint on canvas

H 114 x W 91.5 cm

Penleee House Gallery & Museum, PEZPH: 2009.76

A good-humoured "old tar," probably mending sails, is trying to thread a needle's eye, while two young women look on with great amusement. They would no doubt be much more adept at such a task. The woman in the middle looks cheerfully pregnant, and the other leans forward from the rail in spontaneous mirth. Both mood and composition are very natural and pleasing. [Commentary continues below.]

Image kindly released under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives licence (CC BY-ND). Commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee, with the very useful note on the title added by Naomi Lightman. [Click on the image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]

But the great achievement here is the radiance of the bay behind them, reflecting the little fishing village in its waters. Seagulls complete the quintessentially Cornish scene. This light-hearted painting contrasts with Bramley's A Hopeless Dawn, and shows that, for all its struggles against the elements and poverty, the simple life of the villagers could have its happier moments.

Note: The title comes from a chapter heading in Evenings at Home, written by Anna Barbauld and her brother John Aikin (who wrote this particular chapter) in 1792-6. This was one of the most popular children's books in the Victorian era and beyond, and this chapter was especially influential: it records a holiday walk by two boys, one of whom, questioned afterwards by their tutor, says he found the walk boring, whilst the other returns full of enthusiasm and describes at length what he has seen. This leads to the tutor's "message" about the importance of using one's eyes to observe what is around one. Many Victorians who grew up to be scientists, artists and educationalists recorded its effect on them as children. Charles Kingsley, for instance, recalled reading it, and wanting to be "Mr Eye" and not "Mr No Eyes"! In fact, Charlotte Yonge described the title as "almost proverbial." Bramley's painting indirectly refers to the narrative here. The elderly man trying to thread a needle is "No Eyes" whilst the women watching his unsuccessful efforts are "Eyes." — Naomi Lightman

Link to related material

"No man could owe more” — John Ruskin’s debt to Anna Barbauld’s books for children

Created 10 March 2021