Live Auction 17201British & European Art: European Art
Pierre Oliver Joseph Coomans (Belgian, 1816-1889)
Lot 240 PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

Pierre Oliver Joseph Coomans (Belgian, 1816-1889)

The Last Hour of Pompeii - The House of the Poet

Closed11 July 2019

Price Realised

GBP 62,500

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Pierre Oliver Joseph Coomans (Belgian, 1816-1889)
The Last Hour of Pompeii - The House of the Poet
signed and dated 'Joseph Coomans 1869' (lower right)
oil on canvas
39 ¾ x 62 ¼ in. (101 x 158.1 cm.)

Mrs. C. H. Hughes sale; Christie's, London, 5 May 1919, lot 120.
Acquired at the above sale by Mr. Mitchell (56 gns).
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 17 November 1995, lot 44.
John Reid sale; Christie's, London, 17 December 1998, lot 643.
Acquired at the above by a private collector.
Their sale; Christie's, New York, 28 April 2014, lot 58.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note

Coomans studied under Nicaise De Keyser (1813-1887) at the Academy of Antwerp, under Pierre Van Hanselaere (1786-1862) in Ghent, and under Baron Gustave Wappers (1803-1874). At the early stage of his career Coomans chose Medieval subjects; but in his mature years, in pictures such as the present work, he found his true métier in the increasing vogue for scenes from antiquity.