Tuesday, June 1, 2010

William Holman Hunt - Portrait of a Young Woman, perhaps Isabella Waugh



inscribed: [F]or Slubby/[with lo]ve from/Edith H[o]lman Hunt/[S]tudy of .../by W.H.[Holman Hunt]/.../[ma]de... [Cam]pden
oil on canvas
21 1/4 x 14"

This seems to be an unfinished portrait, rather than a study.
The torn inscribed label is in Edith Holman Hunt's hand indicating it was painted at 1 Tor Villa where the Hunts lived in the Spring and Summer of 1886 (before he left for the Holy Land), and it is supposed he ran out of time before his departure. At some later stage an extra strip of canvas was added to the lower edge.

Hunt had it framed to his own design which incorporated disks representing the phases of the moon. The pattern og the frieze is a drawn study Hunt made in 1876 inscribed 'Arab ornamental frieze on doorway of Mosque Jerusalem' now in the Birmingham Museum. Sopeculation has been that the picture was intended to represent Artemis.

But the original subject was a member of the Waugh family (Hunt was married first to Fanny Waugh, who died in 1866, and later to her suster Edith). The portrait resembles most another sister Isabella (b. 1843).

'Slubby' is Sir John Macdonell to whom Edith gave the picture.

2 comments:

Juan A. said...

Helénica, verdad?

Hermes said...

The Waugh family were English but he did give it a Grecian theme for sure.