William Dyce, on the Fringes of the Pre-Raphaelites

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

For its sale of Victorian and Edwardian art in London on July 15, Sotheby's devotes almost all its press release to a work by William Dyce. Expected at £ 100 K, this small oil on canvas, 36 x 46 cm, however, is only in fifth place in the estimates of the sale.

This work is entitled Meeting of Jacob and Rachel. The young man, in an emotional impulse, takes the young woman by the neck.

On a trip to Rome, the Scottish painter had met the Nazarenes, lovers of ancient paintings. In 1848, he prepares frescoes on the legend of King Arthur as an official order for the Queen Victoria. In the same year the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood is founded in London. Dyce was not a member, but it is taken for sure that he had some influence on Hunt.

Exhibited in 1850 and again in 1857, our Jacob and Rachel had not been located with certainty since these dates. It has just been found in Norway, and authenticated by a residue of label on the reverse as being the actual painting exhibited in 1857.

Sotheby's do not forget to mention that they have sold for 540 K£ inclusive on November 19 2008 a painting showing two women in Welsh traditional costume (and hats!) knitting in a landscape. This colorful work, 35 x 50 cm, is a holiday memory of the artist. Its interest is regional, and it can not reasonably be taken into account in the estimation of our Biblical subject.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

This painting had everything, except one: the Pre-Raphaelites are not being so sought for the time being (and Dyce was not member of their Brotherhood).

K £ 200 premium included: the price, which almost doubles the lower estimate, must be welcomed as very good.