Study for Pharaoh and His Host Lost in the Red Sea

Benjamin West (1738 - 1820)

Hunterian Art Gallery

circa 1792

The sketch is an important record of a lost work commissioned by George III, and its imagery reflects a knowledge of works by Rubens. The acquisition is made in the Hunterian's bicentenary year, and has been chosen to reflect Hunter's support of the arts, and his network of contacts, especially with Benjamin West and George III. This drawing is an exceptionally vigorous and interesting image, containing an echo of Rubens's Voyage of the Prince (“Quos Ego”) painting in the Dresden royal collection.

• Medium: pen & ink over pencil heightened with pale wash
• Dimensions: 48.5 x 88.8cm
• Art Fund Grant: £5000 ( Total: £13,500)
• ArtFunded in: 2007
• Vendor: Lowell Libson

Provenance

Private collection; Sotheby's, 2006; Lowell Libson. This work has been vetted by the Art Loss Register and LSAD database.

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