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Lot Essay
During his tenure as British Ambassador Extraordinary to Spain from 1790 to 1794, Lord St. Helens acquired arguably the most important collection of Murillo drawings. Acquired directly from the library of Seville Cathedral, they were sold by his nephew and heir Sir Henry Fitzherbert at Christie's in 1840. Sixty Murillo drawings were included in the sale.
The Catalogue of Pictures and Curios at Tissington Hall, 1887, by Ida, daughter of Sir William FitzHerbert, 4th Bt., notes that a larger pair of these portraits owned by the Duke of Sutherland, of the 'same colours', was sent to the Winter Exhibition in London.
We are grateful to Professor Enrique Valdivieso of the Universidad de Sevilla for noting on the basis of photographs that these works are contemporary derivations 'of good quality' of Murillo's Santa Justa and Santa Rufina (Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum). Saints Justa and Rufina were of particular importance to Murillo as the patron saints of his native Seville.
The Catalogue of Pictures and Curios at Tissington Hall, 1887, by Ida, daughter of Sir William FitzHerbert, 4th Bt., notes that a larger pair of these portraits owned by the Duke of Sutherland, of the 'same colours', was sent to the Winter Exhibition in London.
We are grateful to Professor Enrique Valdivieso of the Universidad de Sevilla for noting on the basis of photographs that these works are contemporary derivations 'of good quality' of Murillo's Santa Justa and Santa Rufina (Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum). Saints Justa and Rufina were of particular importance to Murillo as the patron saints of his native Seville.