Lot 55
  • 55

Sir Edward John Poynter, Bt., P.R.A., R.W.S.

Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Sir Edward John Poynter, Bt., P.R.A., R.W.S.
  • Diadumenè
  • signed EJP, dated and inscribed FECIT MDCCCLXXXV (center right, in the wall above the basin); signed with the artist's monogram and dated 1893 (lower right)
  • oil on canvas
  • 88 by 52 1/4 in.
  • 223.5 by 132.7 cm

Provenance

Sir William Peterson, K. B. E., (by 1925)
Sale: Christie's, London, June 17, 1927, lot 93 (as Cloe)
Latham (acquired at the above sale)
Lady Agnes Chichester Dixon-Hartland, née Christie (and sold, her sale, Ashley Manor, Cheltenham, July 17-20, 1956, lot 772)
Private Collection
Sale: Sotheby's, London, June 20, 1989, lot 38, illustrated
Private Collector, New York
Thence by descent

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1885, no. 322
A Royal Commission Exhibition

Literature

Henry Blackburn, Academy Notes, 1885, p. 45, illustrated (showing the undraped version)
The Times, May 28, 1885, p. 5
The Art Journal, 1885, p. 257
The Athenaeum, 1885, vol. I, pp. 570-1
William Gaunt, Victorian Olympus, London (revised edition), 1975, p. 146

Condition

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work has been recently and well restored. Retouches are particularly focused in the mauve colored marble columns on the right and left, where some cracking and instability had occurred. In addition, the arms, chest and face of the figure had lost some of their glazes. There are retouches throughout these areas addressing some of this unevenness and cracking. In the remainder of the figure, there are just a few cracks around her right calf. The marble steps below are in good condition and much of the dark colors in the background are also very well preserved. However, some of the cracking that has developed in these dark colors has also received retouching. The work should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Catalogue Note

Diadumenè, originally exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1885 as a nude, inspired a debate carried out in in the correspondence columns of The Times regarding the nude in art. Poynter was eventually drawn into the argument and despite his strong stance against his critics in these debates, he was compelled to add drapery to this nude, as it is seen today (Gaunt, p. 146). The small bronze statue in the painting’s background echoes Diadumenè’s pose, but its still undraped state is a reminder of Poynter’s original intentions for the work.