The duel

This is a relatively early example of a complex figure drawing by Joshua Cristall – an artist who was to become particularly renowned, in the words of Iolo Williams, for ‘his skill in the grouping of many figures into a composition’. Relatively little is known about Cristall’s output or artistic development until he emerges, already in his mid-thirties and with the respect of fellow artists, as one of the original members of the Society of Painters in Watercolours - with eight works at their first exhibition of 1805. Dated 1803, ‘The Duel’ – perhaps based on a scene from Shakespeare – suggests a figurative path towards what is generally regarded as Cristall’s first major work, ‘The Fishmarket on the Beach, Hastings’ (Victoria & Albert Museum), exhibited at the Society in 1808.