Collector, Dealer, Connoisseur: The Vision of Richard L. Feigen
Collector, Dealer, Connoisseur: The Vision of Richard L. Feigen
Sir David Wilkie, R.A.
The Death of Sir Philip Sidney
Auction Closed
October 18, 03:29 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Sir David Wilkie, R.A.
Fifie 1785 - 1841 at sea off Gibraltar
The Death of Sir Philip Sidney
oil on panel
panel: 14 1/4 by 9 3/4 in.; 36.1 by 24.7 cm.
framed: 20 1/4 by 16 1/4 in.; 51.4 by 41.2 cm.
Thence by descent to his son Bonamy Dobrée (1794-1863), by 1842;
Thence by descent to his son Bonamy Dobrée (1818-1907);
Thence by descent to his son Bonamy Dobrée, Jr. (1863-1891);
Thence by descent to his son Professor Bonamy Dobrée (1891-1974);
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 19 June 1957, lot 37;
There acquired by Harvey Smythe, London;
By whom subsequently returned to Sotheby's and to Professor Bonamy Dobrée;
Thence by descent to Georgina Dobrée (1930-2008), London;
By whom anonymously sold, London, Sotheby's, 14 November 1990, lot 62;
There acquired by Richard L. Feigen.
S. Dobrée, The Book of Death, London 1819, n.p.;
A. Cunningham, The Life of Sir David Wilkie, London 1843, vol. II, pp. 7-8, 11-13;
D. Wilkie, The Wilkie Gallery, a selection of the best pictures of the late Sir David Wilkie, London and New York 1848, n.p., engraving reproduced;
W. Bayne, Sir David Wilkie, R.A., London 1903, p. 79;
H.A.D. Miles, et al., Sir David Wilkie of Scotland (1785-1841), exhibition catalogue, Raleigh 1987, p. 85;
H.A.D. Miles, Sir David Wilkie 1785-1841, exhibition catalogue, London 1994, pp. 63-65, cat. no. 16.
Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586), the poet, courtier and soldier, died after the Battle of Zutphen in 1586. Even though he was the grandson of the Duke of Northumberland and heir presumptive to the Earls of Leicester and Warwick, Sidney himself was not a nobleman. After his death, his life came to represent chivalry in the Elizabethan Age. Legend has it that as he lay on the field of battle, he declined water brought to him by his men, insisting that it be given to a dying soldier at his side.
This particular moment was painted by Wilkie at the request of Samuel Dobrée, a patron of the artist who had purchased one of his paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1814. Dobrée was so pleased with this work that four years later he asked Wilkie to contribute illustrations to a volume he was compiling about the chivalrous deaths of historic men. The aim of the book was to serve as a moral guide for contemporary audiences, causing Wilkie to decline the offer at first, as he did not see the true purpose of such a publication. However, he later became fascinated with the subject of Philip Sidney and he begged Dobrée to accept his painting as contribution to the volume without compensation. In the end, Dobrée paid Wilkie thirty guineas for the picture.
This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of paintings of David Wilkie.