Fugitives, by Edward R. Hughes (1851-1914). 1896. Left: Watercolour on paper, varnished. 26 ¾ x 19 inches (68 X 48.3 cm). Private collection. Image courtesy of Capsule Auctions, New York. Right: Grisaille illustration from The Novellino of Masuccio. Image facing p. 133, scanned by the author. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
This is another example of Hughes working up a finished watercolour from an earlier illustration, this one based on Masuccio Salernitano's "The Lovers in the Storm," the thirty-first story in The Novellino of Masuccio, translated by W. G. Waters, and published in London in 1895 by Lawrence and Bullen. The book was published in two volumes and the grisaille illustration for this subject was found in Volume II, facing page 133. Waters, in his introduction to the story, gives a brief summary of the plot: "A couple of gracious lovers take to flight in company, in order that they may change their present condition to that of married folk; but, having lost their way through the coming on of a sudden storm, they light casually upon a leper hospital. There, the young man having been slain by the lepers, the girl of her own accord kills herself upon his dead body" (129).
The doomed couple were Lois, the son of Misser Jannes de Bruscie, and Martina, the daughter of Sieur de Condi, and they had loved each other since the days of their youth. But when Lois made known his desire to marry Martina, her father forbade the match and denied them the right to see each other or even converse together. They still managed to communicate, however, by means of letters conveyed by a trusted messenger, and eventually arranged to flee to a kinsman's castle, in order to effect their union. They succeeded in escaping, only to get lost in a terrible storm, before taking shelter at a leper hospital. There, unfortunately, two of the lepers lusted after Martina, and lured Lois away and killed him. The distraught Martina begged to mourn over the dead body and killed herself with Lois's dagger. As a terrible retribution, when the young lovers' parents discovered what has happened, they burned down the leper hospital, killing the inmates. Hughes's painting shows the lovers Lois and Martina before the tragedy unfolds, when they are alone and lost in the forest during the horrendous storm, along with their terrified horses. Two of the horses can be seen on the right, one of them rearing up on its hind legs. In the photogravure used as the book illustration, the leper hospital with its lighted window, where the fugitives will meet their ultimate fate, is clearly visible in the upper left.
Bibliography
British Drawings and Watercolours. London: Christie's (22 May 1990): lot 195, 92.
Osborne, Victoria Jean. A British Symbolist in Pre-Raphaelite Circles: Edward Robert Hughes RWS (1851-1914). M. Phil. thesis, University of Birmingham, 2009. 25.
Salernitano, Masuccio. The Novellino of Masuccio. Translated by W. G. Waters. 2 vols. London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1895: Novel thirty-one: 130–40. Internet Archive, from a copy in the University of California Libraries. Web. 3 May 2026.
Vistas: American & European Art. New York, NY: Capsule Auctions (28 April 2022): lot 229.
Created 3 May 2026