Lot Essay
See the Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue of the International Exhibition, London, 1862, p. 235 for an engraving of one of the present pair. The contemporary review of the day notes that this collection of works, 'excited universal admiration; his productions are of the highest order of Art, so painted and decorated as to satisfy the artist and the connoisseur, while fully comprehended and estimated also by the general public.' See Bernard Bumpus, Pâte-sur-Pâte, London, 1992, p. 52-65 for a full discussion on the collaborative works made by Solon and Clauss for Rousseau and for other examples preserved at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The present pair was likely studied closely by the artists and directors at W.T. Copeland and Sons.