The Rescue
John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope (Cannon Hall 1829 - Florence 1908)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1880 - 1880 (exh)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1130 x 737 mm (44 1/2 x 29 in)
Order this imageCollection
Wightwick Manor, West Midlands
NT 1288977
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Rescue by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope (Cannon Hall 1829 - Florence 1908), circa 1880. A young androgenous man in robes is carrying a young woman down rocky steps towards an underground cavern and water whilst she clings round his neck with her eyes shut. The figures bear a very strong resemblance in appearance, pose and details to the man carrying a girl on the far left of Stanhope's 'The Waters of Lethe by the Plains of Elysium' (Manchester City Art Gallery) exhibited in 1880. The bright, clear colour and strong drawing, with angular patterns to the drapery and hair, are characteristic of Stanhope's later work. The composition has the tightly enclosed space with just a glimpse beyond characteristic of many Pre-Raphaelite works.
Provenance
Given to the National Trust in 1967; at Lanhydrock from 1970; at Wightwick Manor since January 1998.
Makers and roles
John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope (Cannon Hall 1829 - Florence 1908), publisher
Exhibition history
Pre-Raphaelites: A Modern Renaissance, Musei di San Domenico, Forlì, Italy, 2024