William Holman Hunt, O.M., R.W.S. (1827-1910)

Studies of carpentry tools and the cover of a water wheel for The Shadow of Death

Details

William Holman Hunt, O.M., R.W.S. (1827-1910)
Studies of carpentry tools and the cover of a water wheel for The Shadow of Death
pencil, pen and brown ink heightened with white on paper
13½ x 9¼ in. (34.3 x 23.5 cm.)

Provenance

The artist, and by descent in the family to
Mrs Burt; Sotheby's, London, 10 October 1985, lot 53, where purchased by the present owner.

Literature

J. Bronkhurst, William Holman Hunt: A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 2006, p. 144, no. 278.

Exhibited

Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, on long-term loan 1965-1985.
Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, and London, Victoria and Albert Museum, William Holman Hunt, 1969, no. 219.

Brought to you by

Clare Keiller

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Lot Essay

Hunt set out on his second tour of the Holy Land in 1869, by which time he had already conceived the idea of The Shadow of Death (Manchester City Art Gallery), which was painted there between 1870 and 1873. The painting depicts Jesus as a young man, working as a carpenter and surrounded by the tools of his trade. He is depicted stretching his arms, and as he does so, a shadow is cast behind him in the shape of a crucifixion. Judith Bronkhurst suggests that the present drawing was executed in the autumn or winter of 1869, when Hunt was studying tools for inclusion in the painting.

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