Description

To be executed in gilt and patinated bronze

Of plinth form with foliate moldings, the front panel with The Triumph of Galatea; the alternative covers each with Cupid firing or sharpening an arrow 5in. wide by 11in. high

Galatea, a Nereid or sea-nymph, of Sicilian origin, loved a handsome youth called Acis, thereby arousing the jealous wrath of Polyphemus, a monstrous one-eyed giant, one of the Cyclopes, who in a rage threw a boulder at Acis, killing him. In celebration of her undying love, the Triumph of Galatea depicts her riding in her sea chariot, a cockleshell drawn by dolphins, while tritons blow conch-shell trumpets in her honor and Cupid flies overhead firing arrows of Love at her.

A shallow inkstand with a kneeling cupid, related to that in the lower design on the present sheet, was sold at Christie's London, June 8, 1989, lot 15.

Medium

Watercolour, gouache and pen and ink, on laid paper

Dimensions:

66.00cm wide   50.80cm high (25.98 inches wide  20.00 inches high)

Status

FOR SALE