Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Master Works on Paper from Five Centuries
Property from a Distinguished Private Collection
Henry Fuseli, R.A.
A naked warrior repelling soldiers at the entrance to a tent, one woman interceding, another collapsing, manacled to a post
Auction Closed
July 6, 10:38 AM GMT
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Distinguished Private Collection
Henry Fuseli, R.A.
Zürich 1741 - 1825 Putney Heath
A naked warrior repelling soldiers at the entrance to a tent, one woman interceding, another collapsing, manacled to a post
Pen and brown ink over pencil
150 by 166 mm
sale, London, Sotheby's, 6 June 2007, lot 190,
where acquired by the present owner
The present drawing is a preliminary study for the second of two related paintings; Percival and Belisane under the spell of Urma (untraced) and Percival delivering Belisane from the enchantment of Urma (Tate Britain, London), depicting Percival and Belisane’s escape from an evil magician.1 For this fictional tale Fuseli seems to have combined motifs from the the 13th century German epic poem Parzival and Spenser’s Fairie Queene.
The various divergences from the finished paintings, for example the absence of the figure of Urma and Percival’s timeless nudity, appear to indicate Fuseli’s refinement of a complex literary theme. Two further studies for Percival Frees Belisane, executed three decades later bear witness to Fuseli’s interest in this literary subject.2
1. Tate Britain, London, N05304
2. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, B1977.14.6170