ORPHEUS DESCENDING INTO HADES

Details

Sydney March (1876-1968)
Orpheus descending into Hades
depicting Orpheus playing his lyre on a naturalistic rockwork base signed 'S.March' to the rear, on a rectangular green marble base, centred to the front by a plaque inscribed ''Orpheus' by Sydney March, Exh. Royal Academy, 1903'
the bronze: 20 in. (51 cm.) high; overall: 22½ in. (57 cm.) high

Provenance

with The Fine Art Society, London, from whom acquired by the present owner in 1981.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1903, no. 1743.
London, Barbican Art Gallery, The Last Romantics: Burne-Jones to Stanley Spencer, 1989, no. 211.

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

This sculpture depicts Orpheus reclaiming his wife Eurydice from Hades through the power of music. The story of Orpheus, with its mixture of magic and tragedy, held particular appeal for the Symbolist painters and sculptors of the fin de siécle; Watts, Briton Riviere, John Macallan Swan and Charles Ricketts all treated various aspects of this subject, as did many of their continental contemporaries. One of Watts's versions, and a study for it, are also included in this sale (lots 138-9).

We are grateful to Peyton Skipwith at The Fine Art Society for his help in the preparation of this catalogue entry.

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