A Fine Farmyard Scene Sand Picture by Benjamin Zobel, Inspired by the Work of George Morland

A Fine Farmyard Scene Sand Picture by Benjamin Zobel, Inspired by the Work of George Morland

The scene set in a farmyard and featuring a charming donkey, bull and a pair of pigs lying in the straw. The subject matter is typical for Zobel but this piece is particularly finely coloured and drawn and all of the animals are well-rendered and observed. A friend of the dissolute George Morland, one of the most popular artists of the period, Zobel frequently copied his works in sand but also drew inspiration from his friend’s compositions, creating new tableaux of his own. The present composition does not appear to be a copy of a known Morland work but is very reminiscent of the artist’s taste and style.

Benjamin Zobel (1762 – 1830) was employed by the Prince Regent’s chef Louis Weltje, and became a `Table Decker’ at Windsor Castle. The custom of `Table Decking’ had been introduced into England by George III, where the table cloth at dinner was elaborately decorated with designs of coloured sands, marble dust, powdered glass or bread crumbs. Zobel became a skilled confectioner and was entrusted with the pictures made in coloured sugars that decorated the huge tarts served at banquets. The method he employed for making sugar patterns was identical to that which he used to make his sand pictures; that is the sugar, or sand, was shaken through a cut and pleated playing cards.