Alexandre Cabanel, La Naissance de Vénus. Estimate $20,000–30,000.
In describing Cabanel’s Birth of Venus, critic and historian Robert Rosenblum wrote that, “This Venus hovers somewhere between an ancient deity and a modern dream.” Cabanel has cloaked his erotic vision in a mythological guise, resulting in a timeless icon for which this is an accomplished preparatory work.
Sir Frank Dicksee, Yseult. Estimate $1,000,000–2,000,000.
Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, also known as The Whole Book of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, was a fertile source of subjects for 19th century painters. It created a craze for Medievalism and romance among the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their followers. Dicksee’s interpretation of Yseult is tense with drama, as the princess looks anxiously out to sea while the fate of her husband, King Tristram, hangs in the balance.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Past and Present Generations. Estimate $300,000–500,000.
Past and Present Generations may be a visual metaphor for Alma Tadema’s connection to an imagined Antiquity. In describing his interest in the symbols of the past the artist wrote, “There is not such a great difference between the ancients and the modern as we are apt to suppose... the old Romans were human flesh and blood like ourselves, moved by such passions and emotions.”
Émile-René Ménard, The Three Graces. Estimate $30,000–50,000.
The Three Graces is a bucolic, dreamy vision of a Mediterranean paradise where the daughters of Zeus overlook a Provençal seascape. The figure group is based on a now lost second century BC Greek bronze group, which in the 19th century would have been recognizable from several Roman marble copies in prominent collections and from wall paintings in Pompeii.
William Bouguereau, Bacchante. Estimate $600,000–800,000.
Greeting the viewer with a raised goblet, this beautiful model revels in the iconographic tradition of Maenads or Bacchantes. These mythological women were frequent subjects among 19th century artists who favored them for their intrinsic eroticism and ecstatic youthfulness. However, at the sober hand of Bouguereau, she is hardly a lascivious fury inebriated by wine.
John Liston Byam Shaw, The Lure. Estimate $20,000–30,000.
A grieving young widow is suddenly interrupted by the impish figure of Love, who mischievously beckons her away. While the exact source of the scene is unknown, Byam Shaw sought artistic inspiration in literature and history and often painted compositions with a clear narrative or underlying moral, perhaps inspired by his Pre-Raphaelite forbearers.
Thomas Bromley Blacklock, In the Fairies' Wood. Estimate $20,000–30,000.
This charming and imaginative scene of a wandering girl’s meeting with a gnome reflects the insatiable Victorian appetite for storytelling and depictions of fairies and other mythical beasts. This work may be inspired by local Galloway folklore.
Thomas Couture, Two Sisters (Study for "The Promises" in the Enrollment of the Volunteers of 1792). Estimate $60,000–80,000.
In preparation for his monumental The Enrollment of the Volunteers of 1792, Couture made innumerable figure studies to create an anachronistic cast that borrows classical motifs, allegorical figures, 18th century soldiers and contemporary workers. At the very center of the initial composition, astride a cannon hauled by workers, sits the allegorical figure of "Liberty", and to her left are two young girls, referred to as "The Promises" – the present figure group emblematic of optimism for the future.
Limited only by their imaginations, artists in the 19th century sought inspiration from classical mythology, local legend and allegories. Even today, their fresh interpretations of an imagined or ancient world continue to entrance audiences and provide iconic imagery that influence contemporary culture, from film to fashion. Ahead, discover the fascinating stories behind some of the magical works on offer in the upcoming 19th Century European Art auction.