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Simeon Solomon
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Description
Simeon Solomon
1840-1905
a deacon
signed with mongoram and dated l.r.: 63
oil on canvas
35.5 by 25.5 cm., 14 by 10 in.
This early painting by Simeon Solomon stems from his intense interest in the religious ritual of the ancient and modern worlds, and his familiarity with both Jewish and Christian rites and practices. It shows a Christian deacon, a member of the lowest order of the priesthood and one who may be recognised by his ecclesiastical vestment which is known as a Dalmatic. He is carrying a metal vessel, which perhaps contains oil for use in holy ritual or with which to prime lamps. Behind are seen two olive bushes growing in round shaped pots, a motif that supports the suggestion that the vessel contains oil. The painting may be seen as in line of succession to Solomon's A Young Musician employed in the Temple Service during the Feast of the Tabernacles (ex Sotheby's, London, 11 November 1998, lot 5), of 1861. In both cases, the artist was as much interested in the decorative richness of vestments and the elegance of the handsome young acolyte as in any precise documentation of the ritual of synagogue or church.
That Solomon, who was himself Jewish, was prepared to represent figures in acts of religious observation of whatever kind, so long as the subject appealed to his sense of mystery and decorative richness, is demonstrated by making comparison between the present painting - which as has been seen is ostensibly Christian - with others, which have Jewish or even Pagan themes. Among Christian subjects, in addition to the present painting, he also produced in 1863 a watercolour entitled Two Acolytes, Censing, Pentecost (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), and this was followed in 1867-8 with a Greek Orthodox subject entitled A Greek Acolyte (Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery). Among Pagan subjects, his In the Temple of Venus (ex Sotheby's, London, 15 June 1988, lot 215) was followed in 1866 by Heliogabalus, High Priest of the Sun (Forbes Magazine collection, New York). In addition he frequently returned to Jewish subjects, as in for example his Carrying the Scrolls of the Law (Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester), of 1867.
Solomon's A Deacon has apparently not been exhibited since it was shown at the Royal Academy in 1864.
Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1864, no.273
1840-1905
a deacon
signed with mongoram and dated l.r.: 63
oil on canvas
35.5 by 25.5 cm., 14 by 10 in.
This early painting by Simeon Solomon stems from his intense interest in the religious ritual of the ancient and modern worlds, and his familiarity with both Jewish and Christian rites and practices. It shows a Christian deacon, a member of the lowest order of the priesthood and one who may be recognised by his ecclesiastical vestment which is known as a Dalmatic. He is carrying a metal vessel, which perhaps contains oil for use in holy ritual or with which to prime lamps. Behind are seen two olive bushes growing in round shaped pots, a motif that supports the suggestion that the vessel contains oil. The painting may be seen as in line of succession to Solomon's A Young Musician employed in the Temple Service during the Feast of the Tabernacles (ex Sotheby's, London, 11 November 1998, lot 5), of 1861. In both cases, the artist was as much interested in the decorative richness of vestments and the elegance of the handsome young acolyte as in any precise documentation of the ritual of synagogue or church.
That Solomon, who was himself Jewish, was prepared to represent figures in acts of religious observation of whatever kind, so long as the subject appealed to his sense of mystery and decorative richness, is demonstrated by making comparison between the present painting - which as has been seen is ostensibly Christian - with others, which have Jewish or even Pagan themes. Among Christian subjects, in addition to the present painting, he also produced in 1863 a watercolour entitled Two Acolytes, Censing, Pentecost (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford), and this was followed in 1867-8 with a Greek Orthodox subject entitled A Greek Acolyte (Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery). Among Pagan subjects, his In the Temple of Venus (ex Sotheby's, London, 15 June 1988, lot 215) was followed in 1866 by Heliogabalus, High Priest of the Sun (Forbes Magazine collection, New York). In addition he frequently returned to Jewish subjects, as in for example his Carrying the Scrolls of the Law (Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester), of 1867.
Solomon's A Deacon has apparently not been exhibited since it was shown at the Royal Academy in 1864.
Exhibited:
London, Royal Academy of Arts, 1864, no.273