Illustration to Homer's Odyssey: Hermes conducting the souls of the suitors to the infernal region

Details

John Flaxman, R.A. (1755-1826)
Illustration to Homer's Odyssey: Hermes conducting the souls of the suitors to the infernal region
an inscription has been erased below the seated figure on the right
pencil, pen and brown ink
8¼ x 12 1/8 in. (21 x 30.8 cm.)

Provenance

Paul Wallraf, from whom purchased by Agnew's, London 1945.
with Agnew's, London, where purchased by Mrs. Gilbert Russell, 1947.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Like lot 3 this drawing is related to the edition of illustrations of the Odyssey engraved by James Parker and James Neagle after Flaxman's designs. In this episode from Book XXIV, after Odysseus has finally killed his wife's suitors after his return to Ithaca, Hermes marshalls their souls and sets off with shrill discord to Hades, where their arrival interrupts the conversation of Achilles and Agamemnon.

As in the case of lot 3, this drawing is closer to the final engraving than is the drawing in the Royal Academy, but there are again slight differences in detail, particularly among the heads of the suitors on the right.

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