Live Auction 7435British Works on Paper
Benjamin West, P.R.A. (1738-1820)
Lot 46

Benjamin West, P.R.A. (1738-1820)

Study for 'The Last Supper'

Closed21 November 2007

Price Realised

GBP 1,062

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Benjamin West, P.R.A. (1738-1820)
Study for 'The Last Supper'
pencil, lightly squared, the outlines indented
16 x 23½ in. (40.6 x 59.7 cm.)

The artist's family, and by descent to
Mrs P. Howard; Sotheby's, London, 22 March 1979, part of lot 26, where purchased by the present owner.

Specialist note

The present drawing relates to the Last Supper now in Tate Britain (1784; fig. 1). The painting was one of two versions of the subject executed by West for King George III between 1784 and 1786, both intended for chapels at Windsor Castle. A similar study, slightly looser in style and emphasising the tonal qualities of the composition, rather than its disegno, was last recorded in a private collection (von Erffa & Staley, 345).

The precision of the present drawing, along with the fact that it has been squared for transfer, may suggest that West executed it after the completion of the painting, in order to give guidance to an engraver.