JOHN RODDAM SPENCER STANHOPE | Andromeda

Hartnoll & Eyre, London;
Michael Hasenclever, Munich;
Neumeister Kunstauktionen, Munich, 19 May 2010, lot 444

This picture has been lined which is providing a good stable support. There is a fine craquelure pattern accross the surface and the paint surafce is dirty - it would benefit from a light clean. There is a very small paint-loss under the raised arm of the figure. UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT There are small retouchings to the figure's left breast and further small retouchings to the water on the right. There are infillings to the sky, the rocks and the figure. FRAME The picture is contained in a simple gilt frame with reeded decoration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Ovid told the story of Andromeda in Metamorphoses, one of the most fertile sources of classical inspiration for nineteenth century artists. She was said to be the beautiful daughter of king Cepheus of Aethiopia, whose mother Cassiopeia angered Poseidon by claiming that Andromeda was more lovely than the Nereids. Her mother's hubris condemned Andromeda to be chained to rocks on the seashore and left as a sacrifice to a sea-monster to appease the gods. Fortunately for her, she was seen by Perseus flying overhead on the winged horse Pegasus, who turned the creature to stone using the magic of the severed head of the Gorgon Medusa. He saved Andromeda and was granted her hand in marriage as a reward. 

Spencer-Stanhope's friends Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones designed ambitious paintings depicting Andromeda, the latter painter's style being more suitable for the subject. Rossetti was not confident painting nudes and would not have attempted the subject of Andromeda bound to the rocks, favouring a depiction of a later event in the story where Perseus showed Andromeda the head of the Gorgon reflected in the water of a fountain, after their marriage. This composition he titled Aspecta Medusa and he made numerous beautiful drawings for it in the mid-1860s but a painting of the subject did not materialise because Rossetti's patron was worried about the gruesome subject of a severed head. Burne-Jones was able to paint the same subject in 1886 as The Baleful Head (Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart) and managed to create a beautiful image. Indeed Burne-Jones painted an ambitious series of pictures depicting the story of Perseus and Andromeda. However Whilst Burne-Jones pictured Andromeda bound to the rocks in two of his pictures The Rock of Doom and The Doom Fulfilled (both Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart) both include Andromeda's saviour Perseus and do not capture Andromeda's desolation and loneliness. Leighton also painted Andromeda about to be set free by the hero in his Perseus and Andromeda of 1891 (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool) as did Edward Poynter in one of the decorations painted for Lord Wharncliffe's billiard room. Stanhope's picture is closer to another of Poynter's depictions of Andromeda, the single-figure composition of 1869 (sold in these rooms, 17 May 2011, lot 17). Spencer-Stanhope probably knew Poynter through his friendship with his brother-in-law Burne-Jones.

Another version of Andromeda was sold in these rooms (19 November 2013, lot 13). That version was the same size but the background is of a more enclosed and rocky promontory. It was not uncommon for Stanhope to paint two version of the same subject, perhaps creating one to satisfy a commission and another for him to retain. Andromeda was influenced by the work of Sandro Botticelli, particularly the flowing hair and the position of the arms of the principal figure in The Birth of Venus (Uffizi, Florence) and the rocky architecture of Pallas and the Centaur (both Uffizi, Florence). Spencer-Stanhope had close links with Italy, visiting often from around 1873 and from 1880 settled at the Villa Nuti at Bellosguardo in the countryside outside Florence which became a centre for British visitors.