ATTRIBUTED TO WILLIAM HAMILTON, R.A. | CORIOLANUS ACT V, SCENE III

By descent in a private collection, 20th century;

By whom sold, London, Christie's, 29 October 2015, lot 162;

There acquired.

William Hamilton, a pupil of Antonio Zucchi, exhibited from 1774 to 1801 in London's Royal Academy of Art, where he became an associate member (ARA) in 1784 and then a full member (RA) in 1789. Hamilton was known for his dramatic paintings depicting Shakespearean episodes as seen here. 

The subject of this painting derives from Shakespeare's Coriolanus, a tragedy based on the life of the legendary ancient Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Shown here is Coriolanus, who after being exiled from Rome, betrays his country and allies with his Volscian enemy, Tullus Aufidius.