The Inquisition

Details

Charles West Cope, R.A. (1811-1890)
The Inquisition
signed with monogram and indistinctly dated '1880' (lower centre)
oil on canvas
29½ x 24½ in. (75 x 62.2 cm.)

Literature

H. Blackburn (ed.), Academy Notes, 1880, p. 24.
Athenaeum, no. 2742, 15 May 1880, p. 638.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1880, no. 200.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The Athenaeum described this picture as follows when it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1880, 'Mr. Cope, is in unusual force, with a picture...by the title of An Inquisition (200), where two lean maiden aunts, who are apparently shrill of voice and sharp of temper, discuss letters found in the casket of a very young woman, a love-smitten culprit, who stands before them half pointing, half indignant, yet afraid to fight. The senior, with the rigid ringlets, has a quaint, somewhat cariacatured head, and a lively and actue expression that is well conceived and happily rendered...The picture is bright and clear...'

More from Victorian Pictures

View All