Bidding on this item has ended.
IMOGEN SLEEPING IN HER CHAMBER
Lot 62
Price Realised:
€4,200
Estimate:
€3,000 - €5,000
Circle of James Barry, 1741 - 1806
IMOGEN SLEEPING IN HER CHAMBER
Oil on paper laid on canvas, 17" x 25 3/4" (43.1 x 65.7cm).
Exhibited: James Barry 1741-1806, The Great Historical Painter, Crawford Art Gallery, (Oct. 2005-Mar 2006)
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Lot 62
IMOGEN SLEEPING IN HER CHAMBER
Lot 62
IMOGEN SLEEPING IN HER CHAMBER
Estimate:
€3,000 - €5,000
Circle of James Barry, 1741 - 1806
IMOGEN SLEEPING IN HER CHAMBER
Oil on paper laid on canvas, 17" x 25 3/4" (43.1 x 65.7cm).
Exhibited: James Barry 1741-1806, The Great Historical Painter, Crawford Art Gallery, (Oct. 2005-Mar 2006)
Fintan Cullen in Tom Dunne (ed.), James Barry 1741-1806, The Great Historical Painter, Exhibition Catalogue, Crawford Art Gallery (Cork, 2005) pp. 114-17.
One of the great treasures of the Royal Dublin Society is the enormous painting by James Barry showing Iachimo Emerging from the Chest in Imogen's Chamber. This was commissioned in 1786 by the entrepreneurial printseller (and sometime Lord Mayor of London) John Boydell for his famous gallery devoted to paintings illustrating the works of William Shakespeare. Barry supplied two works for the project, the well-known King Lear Weeping over the Body of Cordelia (Tate Britain) and the RDS painting, which depicts a story from Cymbeline (Act II, Scene II). Imogen, the daughter of the King of Britain, is secretly married to Leonatus Posthumus. To besmirch her virtue, having been repulsed in seeking her favours, Iachimo hides himself in a chest in Imogen's bedchamber from which he climbs when she is asleep and hence is able to give a circumstantially detailed account of her room to Leonatus who, accordingly, suspects her fidelity and orders her death (though she escapes dressed as a man). Barry depicts the moment when Iachimo emerges from the chest. As William Pressly has noted, the picture 'depicts a subject which touched the artist deeply, for it dwells on the ruinous effects of slander'.
A smaller version of the complete work, executed in oil on paper, is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI 1759). This 'highly finished sketch' has been described as 'a preliminary study for the large version now in the collection of the Royal Dublin Society' (Figgis and Rooney, Irish Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland, Vol. 2, 76) or else as preparatory to the proposed, but never executed, print of the subject.
Earlier, Pressly took the same position as to its purpose but considered it 'more likely….by another hand' (William Pressly, The Life and Art of James Barry, New Haven and London, 1981, 235). The present work, by contrast, focuses squarely on the reclining figure of Imogen which is copied closely from the original. Although a work of high quality, it is difficult to see where it would fit within the creative process and its attribution to Barry has long been considered uncertain. In the catalogue of the great bi-centenary exhibition of Barry's art in Cork, Fintan Cullen judiciously summarised the critical consensus as to the picture's status: 'The painting is close to Barry's style in its attention to detail of colour and form found in the RDS painting, but the lack of narrative turns it into a portrait of one of Shakespeare's heroines. Such a focus is unusual in Barry's history paintings and suggests that this canvas is by a contemporary whose admiration for the Irish artist had more to do with his rendition of sublime forms than dramatic incident'.
IMOGEN SLEEPING IN HER CHAMBER
Oil on paper laid on canvas, 17" x 25 3/4" (43.1 x 65.7cm).
Exhibited: James Barry 1741-1806, The Great Historical Painter, Crawford Art Gallery, (Oct. 2005-Mar 2006)
Fintan Cullen in Tom Dunne (ed.), James Barry 1741-1806, The Great Historical Painter, Exhibition Catalogue, Crawford Art Gallery (Cork, 2005) pp. 114-17.
One of the great treasures of the Royal Dublin Society is the enormous painting by James Barry showing Iachimo Emerging from the Chest in Imogen's Chamber. This was commissioned in 1786 by the entrepreneurial printseller (and sometime Lord Mayor of London) John Boydell for his famous gallery devoted to paintings illustrating the works of William Shakespeare. Barry supplied two works for the project, the well-known King Lear Weeping over the Body of Cordelia (Tate Britain) and the RDS painting, which depicts a story from Cymbeline (Act II, Scene II). Imogen, the daughter of the King of Britain, is secretly married to Leonatus Posthumus. To besmirch her virtue, having been repulsed in seeking her favours, Iachimo hides himself in a chest in Imogen's bedchamber from which he climbs when she is asleep and hence is able to give a circumstantially detailed account of her room to Leonatus who, accordingly, suspects her fidelity and orders her death (though she escapes dressed as a man). Barry depicts the moment when Iachimo emerges from the chest. As William Pressly has noted, the picture 'depicts a subject which touched the artist deeply, for it dwells on the ruinous effects of slander'.
A smaller version of the complete work, executed in oil on paper, is in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI 1759). This 'highly finished sketch' has been described as 'a preliminary study for the large version now in the collection of the Royal Dublin Society' (Figgis and Rooney, Irish Paintings in the National Gallery of Ireland, Vol. 2, 76) or else as preparatory to the proposed, but never executed, print of the subject.
Earlier, Pressly took the same position as to its purpose but considered it 'more likely….by another hand' (William Pressly, The Life and Art of James Barry, New Haven and London, 1981, 235). The present work, by contrast, focuses squarely on the reclining figure of Imogen which is copied closely from the original. Although a work of high quality, it is difficult to see where it would fit within the creative process and its attribution to Barry has long been considered uncertain. In the catalogue of the great bi-centenary exhibition of Barry's art in Cork, Fintan Cullen judiciously summarised the critical consensus as to the picture's status: 'The painting is close to Barry's style in its attention to detail of colour and form found in the RDS painting, but the lack of narrative turns it into a portrait of one of Shakespeare's heroines. Such a focus is unusual in Barry's history paintings and suggests that this canvas is by a contemporary whose admiration for the Irish artist had more to do with his rendition of sublime forms than dramatic incident'.
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In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
PLEASE BID EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
In order to allow rival bidders the opportunity to respond to a late bid the following extensions will apply:
IF A BID IS RECEIVED WITHIN THE FINAL 45 SECONDS OF THE COUNTDOWN THE CLOCK WILL RESET TO 60 SECONDS.
At any point you can leave a maximum bid, representing the highest price you are prepared to pay for a particular lot. Bidding only advances when there is competition from a rival bidder. In that case the system bids on your behalf, only up to the maximum if required. All bids are relayed to you be email, along with notification if you have been outbid.
All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
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