JOHN JAMES BARRALET (IRISH, 1747-1815)

Born in Dublin, Barralet moved to London in 1770, and established a school in 1773 in St James's Street, which was later relocated to Pall Mall. Exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Society of Artists, Barralet's thematically wide-ranging oeuvre explored English landscapes, theatrical scenes, classical subjects and English history among other subjects. The handling of figures in a forest landscape in the lots offered here is reminiscent of Barralet's The Benevolent Lady, painted in the same year, with similar highly-finished, delicate, grisaille tones and an emphasis on trees and leaves.