Three Classical Figures in a Garden (Allegorical Subject) , c. late 1860s. Oil on canvas, over graphite, 51/2 x 91/4 in. (12.7 x 23.4 cm). Private collection.
Although it is well known that Smetham went through a Pre-Raphaelite phase, influenced by his close friend Dante Gabriel Rossetti, it is unusual to see his art being affected by Aesthetic Classicism. This work featuring three classical figures in a walled garden epitomizes this influence, particularly that of Albert Moore. This might seem surprising at first but Moore and Smetham were actually well acquainted having shared a studio for several months in 1854. Smetham obviously admired the younger artist’s work and in a letter from 1856 once complimented Moore as a “bright boy who might be shaped…into another Millais” (Smetham, Family Letters and Memoranda, 140). Even if Smetham didn’t have access to see Moore’s later work in his studio, Smetham obviously would have seen examples of Moore’s paintings at Royal Academy exhibitions. Relevant works by Moore that could have influenced Smetham’s composition are The Marble Seat of 1865 (private collection) and, in particular, A Musician of 1865-66 (Yale Center for British Art). Structurally Smetham’s painting is very close to that of Moore’s A Musician, although Smetham is less concerned the colour harmonies that particularly fascinated Moore. The wall in the background of Smetham’s painting is reminiscent of a similar wall in William Bell Scott’s The Poet in Arcadia of 1866 that Smetham might have seen through their mutual friend D. G. Rossetti.
Bibliography
Smetham, Sarah: Family Letters and Memoranda, with Some Additional Letters of James Smethan, 2 Vols. Unpublished and undated, Smetham family collection.
Last modified 23 March 2022