John Linnell

José de Murietta (Marquis de Santurce), by 1873;
His sale, probably Christie's, 16 June 1883, lot 150 as Evening;
Joseph Gillott Jun., Berry Hall, Solihul, sold by his executors, Christie's, 30 April 1904, lot 37 (bought 'JH Gillott');
Mrs Charlotte Frank, where bought by Sir David Scott

London, British Institution, 1852, no. 45

STRUCTURE In good stable condition PAINT SURFACE There are some small patches of cracking and resultant minor lifting to paint in the sky area. Scattered surface dirt. ULTRAVIOLET UV light reveals scattered spots of retouching to the foreground and branches on the left. More substantial patches of retouching across the sky area. FRAME Held in a ightly decorated gilded frame
"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."

This appears to be a study for, or composition related to, Linnell's Ulysses and the Boar, otherwise known as Hunting the Boar on Mount Parnassus, painted in 1850 and sold directly to the artist's patron Joseph Gillott, the Birmingham manufacturer of steel pen nibs. The completed picture measured 14 by 21 inches and was retouched by Linnell in 1859. A further related composition entitled Death of the Boar, painted in oil on canvas and measuring 34 by 58 inches was exhibited at the British Gallery in 1852 and entered the collection of a Mr. Wethered. A larger still composition, The Return of Ulysses (ex Forbes Magazine Collection, New York; sold Christie's, London, 19 February 2003, lot 4), of 1847, was also commissioned by Gillott. The present picture was bought by Gillott's son from the collection of the Catalan collector José de Murietta (Marquis de Santurce). Murietta owned a large collection of pictures, including The Field of Waterloo and Glaucus and Scylla by Turner, Actaea by Leighton, Lesbia and The Honeymoon from Alma-Tadema and many drawings by Cox and Birket Foster. There was at least one other picture by Linnel in Murietta's collection, entitled Milking Time a replica of a Royal Academy exhibit of the same title.

The subjects of the two paintings acquired by Gillott are related. Ulysses, or to give him his more usual name deriving from the Greek, Odysseus, returned to his wife Penelope at Ithaca after years of wandering following the Trojan War, but was not recognised by her or by any member of what had once been his court. In the 1847 painting Linnell shows Odysseus' sleeping body being carried ashore and placed upon the strand. The present subject is taken from the account of how Odysseus was eventually recognised by his old nurse, a woman called Eurycleia. When bathing his leg she saw an old wound to the thigh, which he received as a boy when hunting on Mount Parnassus with his grand-father Autolycus. The account of his having been gored by a wild boar is recalled in Book XIX of The Odyssey, leading to Eurycleia's delighted exclamation: 'Of course, you are Odysseus, my dear child. And to think that I didn't know you till I'd handled all my master's limbs!'

We are grateful to David Linnell for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.