Lot 144
144
Frederick Richard Pickersgill, R.A. (1820-1900)
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
Frederick Richard Pickersgill, R.A. (1820-1900)

Mars and Venus, crowned by Cupid

Details
Frederick Richard Pickersgill, R.A. (1820-1900)
Mars and Venus, crowned by Cupid
signed with initials 'F R P ARA' (lower left) and signed and inscribed 'Samson and Delilah/F.R. Pickersgill. R.A.' (on an old label on the reverse)
oil on panel
12 x 9 7/8 in. (30.5 x 25 cm.)
Provenance
with P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., Ltd, London.
Anon. sale, Sotheby's, New York, 23 January 1979, lot 258, as Samson and Delilah, when acquired by the present owner.
Exhibited
A Brush with the Millenium, 2000, no. 7.
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

Though sold to the Forbes Collection as Samson and Delilah, and carrying a comparable pose to the protagonists in the picture of 1850 in Manchester City Art Gallery, this picture would appear to be a depiction of Venus, Mars and Cupid. Mars, god of war, having disposed of his armour, reclines in Venus's lap, while the triumph of love is concluded by a winged Cupid, who places a floral wreath on Venus' head. It is not known whether the present picture is a sketch for a larger composition.

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