William Holman Hunt, O.M., R.W.S. (1827-1910)

The studies in the present lot are related to Holman Hunt's illustrations to Percy Bysshe Shelley's (1792-1822) poem Ginevra, which tells the tragic story of a young girl forced to marry the wealthy Gherardi rather than her lover Antonio. Ginevra dies of a broken heart on her marriage bed. In the present studies, the doctor holds Ginevra's wrist to see whether she has a pulse while a figure leans over her with a mirror to her lips in the hope of finding her breathing. Judith Bronkhurst (op. cit.) argues that in spite of the later inscription, '1846', added in the lower right corner of one sheet, these studies are stylistically more likely to date from circa 1847. The smaller figures at the right and bottom of the sheet are related to Hunt's painting The Flight of Madeline and Porphyro (1848; Guildhall Art Gallery, Corporation of London), a tale in which secret love has a happier conclusion.