“In the Temple of Vesta” by Simeon Solomon (1840-1905)

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In the Temple of Vesta

Simeon Solomon (1840-1905)

1862

Graphite and watercolour and gouache on paper

10 15/16 x 6 9/16 inches (27.9 x 16.7 cm)

Signed with the artist's SS monogram, and dated “2 5 62” lower left

Private collection

It is uncertain when this watercolour acquired the title In the Temple of Vesta because the subject is derived from an illustration that Solomon intended for the Dalziel Bible Gallery, Jewish Women Burning Incense – Jeremiah, also dated 1862. In the wood engraving the figures of the two women are reversed, and the background differs significantly. [continued below]

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Jewish Women Burning Incense – Jeremiah

During the early 1860s Solomon prepared twenty drawings to be engraved for the Dalziel Brothers' illustrated bible, more than any other artist involved in this project to which artists of various schools contributed. Those within the Pre-Raphaelite circle included William Holman Hunt, Ford Madox Brown, Edward Burne-Jones, and Frederick Sandys. “England’s Michelangelo,” G. F. Watts, was friendly with the Pre-Raphaelites, but worked in a very different style as did the classically oriented painters Frederick Leighton and Edward Poynter. When the Dalziel Bible Gallery was finally published in 1881 only six illustrations by Solomon were included, but all twenty were eventually used when Art Pictures from the Old Testament was published in 1894 by the Society For Promoting Christian Knowledge. Jewish Women Burning Incense was not the only one of Solomon's designs for the Dalziel Bible Gallery that he subsequently modified and worked up into finished watercolours or oil paintings. Some, like his well-known watercolour Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace, dated 10/63, are considerably altered from the associated illustration.

In Solomon's Dalziel illustration two women, evidently from the upper class judging from their garments, can be seen mixing incense with a spoon. The subject is taken from Jeremiah 44: 15-30. The prophet had been preaching against the wickedness of the Jewish people, including Jewish women who burnt incense to a false goddess whom they called the queen of heaven. It is possible that the watercolour only acquired its title In the Temple of Vesta later in its existence based on a misinterpretation of its subject matter once its association with the Dalziel Bible Gallery illustrations was forgotten. Vesta, one of the principal divinities in Roman mythology, was the goddess of the hearth. Her priestesses in the Temple of Vesta were six vestal virgins, who watched over the sacred fire originally brought to Rome by Aeneas.

John Christian may be correct, however, that Solomon might have intended this watercolour to be one of a pair with In the Temple of Venus, another watercolour of two classically draped women, dated 23/4/63 (71). Christian sees these two watercolours as early phases in Solomon's move from Jewish to classical themes in the 1860s, which reflects his development of Aesthetic values. The left-hand figure in this watercolour bears a resemblance to Fanny Cornforth and it is possible she was the model. Cornforth was certainly posing for other Pre-Raphaelite artists around this time, including Rossetti, Spencer Stanhope, and Burne-Jones. — Dennis T. Lanigan

Bibliography

Christian, John. Fine Victorian Pictures, Drawings and Watercolours. London: Christie's, November 5, 1993, lot 23.

Created 10 August 20211