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Lot Essay
John Frederick Lewis was the son of the engraver Frederick Charles Lewis, of London. Initially following in his father's trade, he developed his eye for detail, achieving particular recognition for etchings of animals. In 1820 he entered Thomas Lawrence's studio as a draughtsman of animals, having closely studied live specimens and dissected cadavers, along with his childhood neighbor Edwin Landseer. In this respect, Lewis was very much influenced by the anatomical drawings and works of Stubbs.
In 1825 Lewis published six intaglio prints after his drawings of larger felines and in 1826 twelve etchings of Domestic Subjects followed. By 1827, however, he had turned his hand to watercolors, his preferred choice of medium for the next thirty years. He was elected an associate of the Society of Painters in Water Colours that year, became a full member in 1829, and by 1855 was its president. The artist travelled extensively for painterly inspiration, leaving England on a prolonged tour of Europe and the Near East in 1837, following a successful tour of Spain and Morocco between 1832 and 1834. Orientalist subjects were to establish the pattern for most of his future production, and on his return to London in 1851, Lewis turned to oil painting, producing highly polished and evocative portrayals of Eastern life; the inhabitants, animals and their surrounds. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1859 and a full member in 1865.
The present work is typical of Lewis's sketches of animals, the double study being a favoured form, and the juxtaposition of intricate detail with unfinished space redolant of so many of his sketches in watercolour. The microscopic treatment of detail, particularly in the horses' eyes and their carefully delineated lids and lashes, and the anatomical understanding of their skulls, tendons, mouths and jaws are characteristic of the hand of Lewis.
It is possible that this sketch relates to an exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1870, entitled Arab Horses and their Seises, Constantinople, although this picture no longer survives. Stylistically it seems likely that the present work dates from the mid-to-late 1850s. If, however, Lewis had continued with this composition, and included the horses in their entirety with their grooms, it would have been a canvas on a massive scale, a realisation that perhaps deterred further work.
There were three posthumous sales of Lewis' work at Christie's: in 1877, 1897 and 1909. Two watercolors in these sales show the artist working on similar subjects: Study of Horses' Heads (sketched from Lord Ponsonby's horses, Stamboul, 1841) (Christie's, 4 May 1877, lot 125), and Horses and Grooms belonging to Lord Ponsonby, Stamboul 1841 (Christie's, 24 May 1909, lot 153). In 1840-41 Lewis spent just over a year in and near Constantinople, where Lord Ponsonby was British Ambassador. It seems likely that the watercolor by Lewis with The Fine Art Society, London, in 1997, related to one of the two Studio Sale works listed above.
In 1825 Lewis published six intaglio prints after his drawings of larger felines and in 1826 twelve etchings of Domestic Subjects followed. By 1827, however, he had turned his hand to watercolors, his preferred choice of medium for the next thirty years. He was elected an associate of the Society of Painters in Water Colours that year, became a full member in 1829, and by 1855 was its president. The artist travelled extensively for painterly inspiration, leaving England on a prolonged tour of Europe and the Near East in 1837, following a successful tour of Spain and Morocco between 1832 and 1834. Orientalist subjects were to establish the pattern for most of his future production, and on his return to London in 1851, Lewis turned to oil painting, producing highly polished and evocative portrayals of Eastern life; the inhabitants, animals and their surrounds. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1859 and a full member in 1865.
The present work is typical of Lewis's sketches of animals, the double study being a favoured form, and the juxtaposition of intricate detail with unfinished space redolant of so many of his sketches in watercolour. The microscopic treatment of detail, particularly in the horses' eyes and their carefully delineated lids and lashes, and the anatomical understanding of their skulls, tendons, mouths and jaws are characteristic of the hand of Lewis.
It is possible that this sketch relates to an exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1870, entitled Arab Horses and their Seises, Constantinople, although this picture no longer survives. Stylistically it seems likely that the present work dates from the mid-to-late 1850s. If, however, Lewis had continued with this composition, and included the horses in their entirety with their grooms, it would have been a canvas on a massive scale, a realisation that perhaps deterred further work.
There were three posthumous sales of Lewis' work at Christie's: in 1877, 1897 and 1909. Two watercolors in these sales show the artist working on similar subjects: Study of Horses' Heads (sketched from Lord Ponsonby's horses, Stamboul, 1841) (Christie's, 4 May 1877, lot 125), and Horses and Grooms belonging to Lord Ponsonby, Stamboul 1841 (Christie's, 24 May 1909, lot 153). In 1840-41 Lewis spent just over a year in and near Constantinople, where Lord Ponsonby was British Ambassador. It seems likely that the watercolor by Lewis with The Fine Art Society, London, in 1997, related to one of the two Studio Sale works listed above.