British School (19th Century) "An Allegorical Depiction of Hope" oil on canvas signed "Conti" lower right. Presented in an oval-aperture antique gesso and carved giltwood frame. 56" x 40", framed 68-1/2" x 53" Provenance: Sold in these rooms May 30, 2015, lot 46; Private collection. Notes: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and steadfast." --Hebrews 6:19 The anchor as hope is a distinctly Christian symbol, used by the earliest adherents of the new religion in their mortuary carvings and catacomb decorations. These depictions were either non-figural or included stylized fish. The Victorian period, with its fascination with the dichotomy of vice and virtue and love of historic symbolism, saw a re-emergence of the anchor in illustrations, paintings, and sculpture. These 19th-century allegorical scenes, however, almost always incorporate the vaguely Classical figure of a woman holding or leaning upon an anchor, often against a seascape. The exceptional example offered here, with its color palette of rich, lush emerald greens, turquoises and teals, poses its Classically draped, wind-torn figure atop a rocky precipice against the stormy British seas.
British School (19th Century) "An Allegorical Depiction of Hope" oil on canvas signed "Conti" lower right. Presented in an oval-aperture antique gesso and carved giltwood frame. 56" x 40", framed 68-1/2" x 53" Provenance: Sold in these rooms May 30, 2015, lot 46; Private collection. Notes: "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and steadfast." --Hebrews 6:19 The anchor as hope is a distinctly Christian symbol, used by the earliest adherents of the new religion in their mortuary carvings and catacomb decorations. These depictions were either non-figural or included stylized fish. The Victorian period, with its fascination with the dichotomy of vice and virtue and love of historic symbolism, saw a re-emergence of the anchor in illustrations, paintings, and sculpture. These 19th-century allegorical scenes, however, almost always incorporate the vaguely Classical figure of a woman holding or leaning upon an anchor, often against a seascape. The exceptional example offered here, with its color palette of rich, lush emerald greens, turquoises and teals, poses its Classically draped, wind-torn figure atop a rocky precipice against the stormy British seas.
/434/1217434.jpg "Source: Bonhams | Skinner")
/280/1206280.jpg "Source: Bonhams | Skinner")
/866/1220866.jpg "Source: Bonhams | Skinner")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
