Juliette

This Whistlerian composition comes from the collection of William Coltart and Eleanor Tonge Coltart, two of Solomon's greatest patrons, who owned at least six other works by the artist, notably lot 163, Love in Autumn, 1866 (Private Collection) and two watercolours, Poetry dated 1864, and Lady in a Chinese Dress from 1865, both of which are now in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester City Council. This picture depicts Juliette seated in a simple interior with carefully chosen objects, anticipating the reductive taste of the Aesthetic Movement. How Solomon chose his title is unclear as she does not appear to exhibit the characteristics of the Marquis de Sade’s eponymous heroine, a work no doubt read by Solomon’s friend Algernon Swinburne. But then, as critics noted, neither does his oil Marguerite, of 1866, bear much relation to the heroine of Goethe’s Faust.

For more information on this collection, please refer to the catalogue note for lot 162.