Lot Essay
Hector was the son of Priam, King of Troy, and in command of the Trojan army. The night before the battle, he bade farewell to his beloved wife and son Astyanax, who, frightened by his father's armour and plumed helmet, clung to his nurse. This subject, described in the Iliad, VI, verses 394-496, was a very popular subject with artists in the 17th and 18th centuries.
This painting, together with its companion (see previous lot) is a recent discovery, and is one of several treatments by West of the subject, all of which are unlocated, with the exception of a watercolour of 1797, formerly in the collection of Thomas Jefferson now in the J. Paul Getty Museum (see H. von Erffa and A. Staley, op.cit., nos. 163-7); they have frequently been confused with other classical subjects by the artist, and for discussion of these see von Erffa and Staley, op.cit., nos. 164 and 179.
An earlier treatment of this subject, sometimes called 'The Fright of Astyanax', was commissioned by Thomas Newton, Bishop of Bristol (1704-1782), in 1766. The Bishop was attached to the Royal Household when West was formally introduced to King George III, who had been an admirer of his work for some time. West's commission appears in the background of his portrait of the Bishop painted in 1767.
At the Academy in 1771, West exhibited his most famous picture, 'The Death of General Wolfe' (National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa), together with five other classical subjects. The exhibition of 1771 was recorded by Charles Brandoin, and Richard Earlom, in an engraving, and 'Hector taking care of Andromache' can be seen hanging high up on a right hand wall, high up (see S.C. Hutchinson, The History of the Royal Academy, 1961, pl.4).
This painting, together with its companion (see previous lot) is a recent discovery, and is one of several treatments by West of the subject, all of which are unlocated, with the exception of a watercolour of 1797, formerly in the collection of Thomas Jefferson now in the J. Paul Getty Museum (see H. von Erffa and A. Staley, op.cit., nos. 163-7); they have frequently been confused with other classical subjects by the artist, and for discussion of these see von Erffa and Staley, op.cit., nos. 164 and 179.
An earlier treatment of this subject, sometimes called 'The Fright of Astyanax', was commissioned by Thomas Newton, Bishop of Bristol (1704-1782), in 1766. The Bishop was attached to the Royal Household when West was formally introduced to King George III, who had been an admirer of his work for some time. West's commission appears in the background of his portrait of the Bishop painted in 1767.
At the Academy in 1771, West exhibited his most famous picture, 'The Death of General Wolfe' (National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa), together with five other classical subjects. The exhibition of 1771 was recorded by Charles Brandoin, and Richard Earlom, in an engraving, and 'Hector taking care of Andromache' can be seen hanging high up on a right hand wall, high up (see S.C. Hutchinson, The History of the Royal Academy, 1961, pl.4).