Frederick Richard Pickersgill RA, Shipwrecked Man & Siren with Lyre, Watercolour

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An original mid-19th-century watercolour painting – Frederick Richard Pickersgill RA, Shipwrecked Man & Siren with Lyre.This wonderful watercolour by Frederick … Read more An original mid-19th-century watercolour painting – Frederick Richard Pickersgill RA, Shipwrecked Man & Siren with Lyre.This wonderful watercolour by Frederick Richard Pickersgill RA (1820–1900) shows a male figure hunched on coastal rocks, shielding himself from a sensuous Siren figure playing a lyre.In Greek mythology, Sirens were beautiful yet dangerous creatures, who lure sailors to their death with their magnificent voices. Famously in Homer's Odyssey, Circe warns Odysseus about the Sirens, and how to escape them: as his ship approaches the island of the Sirens, his crew puts beeswax into their ears, but Odysseus, wanting to listen, instructs his men to tie him to the mast of the ship. As the Sirens sing with their enchanting voice Odysseus begs his men to set him free, but they only tie him tighter, thereby escaping their deadly temptation.Frederick Richard Pickersgill was a painter and illustrator who often depicted scenes drawn from history, mythology and literature, such as Shakespeare, Spenser and Milton. Pickersgill's stranded figure in the present drawing likely alludes to Homer's epic, whilst the man's costume suggests an Elizabethan literary source, such as Spenser's Faerie Queene.The composition and style of execution of the drawing are distinctly redolent of the work of William Blake (1757–1827): the strong outlines in brown ink, delineating elegant contours and muscular, elongated limbs; and the ethereal siren hovering above the sharply angled profile of the man, creating an other-worldly and emotionally charged dynamic. Blake used a similar composition in works such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion, 1793, and Pity, c.1795. Blake was also involved in engraving the illustrations by John Flaxman RA (1755–1826) for The Odyssey of Homer, 1793.The Odyssey was also a significant inspiration for artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, with which Pickersgill was associated, including Ulysses and the Sirens, 1891 and Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses, 1891 by John William Waterhouse (1849–1917).In watercolour with pen and brown ink, graphite underdrawing and white bodycolour highlights. On grey paper.Provenance: Campbell Wilson, Victorian and Modern British Pictures (on accompanying historical label). Dimensions: Height: 19.5cm (7.68") Width: 29.2cm (11.5")Presented: Unframed.Medium: WatercolourAge: Mid-19th-centurySigned: No.Inscribed: No.Dated: --Condition: Some minor toning. Slight surface wear towards the left-hand corners. Historical adhesive marks and/or paper remnants to the corners verso, from previous mounting. Please see photos for detail. See less