- 200
Richard Parkes Bonington
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 USD
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Description
- Richard Parkes Bonington
- Entry of Ralph Bridgenorth, an illustration to 'Peveril of the Peak'
- Watercolor over pencil, heightened with touches of bodycolor;
signed with the artist's initials lower right: RPB, and inscribed verso: Peveril of the Peak / R.P. Bonnington [sic] / 7'
Provenance
Probably Edward Vernon Utterson (1777-1856);
sale, London, Christie's, 24 February 1857, part of lot 717;
Mrs Sara Austen;
sale, London, Christie's, 10 April 1889, lot 45, bt. Vokins;
Joseph Clark, and by descent to J.H. Clark;
sale, London, Christie's, 6 November 1973, lot 144, bt. Sanders;
sale, London, Christie's, 10 July 1984, lot 119
Engraved:
by William Ensom, 1830
sale, London, Christie's, 24 February 1857, part of lot 717;
Mrs Sara Austen;
sale, London, Christie's, 10 April 1889, lot 45, bt. Vokins;
Joseph Clark, and by descent to J.H. Clark;
sale, London, Christie's, 6 November 1973, lot 144, bt. Sanders;
sale, London, Christie's, 10 July 1984, lot 119
Engraved:
by William Ensom, 1830
Literature
P. Noon, Richard Parkes Bonington, The Complete Paintings, New Haven 2008, p. 376, no. 334
Catalogue Note
‘Then, by Heaven, answered Julian, I will watch his arrival in this Island, and ere he has locked thee in his arms he shall answer to me on the subject of my suit. Then demand that answer now, said a voice from without the door, which was at the same time slowly opened, for here stands Ralph Bridgenorth.’1
Bonington’s watercolor illustrates this passage from Sir Walter Scott's novel Peveril of the Peak, which was first published in 1823. The novel is set in 1678 and tells the story of two Derbyshire landowners, Sir Geoffrey Peveril, an old Cavalier, and Major Ralph Bridgenorth, a Puritan. Their children, Julian (Peveril) and Alice (Bridgenorth) are in love, but their relationship is jeopardised when the Popish Plot of that year exposes their fathers’ differences. All is not lost however, as the tale ends when the King insists that Sir Geoffrey and Bridgenorth reconcile and consent to their children’s marriage. The present work has been dated to circa 1826 and was engraved in 1830 by Bonington’s friend William Enson, as the frontispiece to Robert Cadell’s edition of the story.
Edward Vernon Utterson, the probable first owner of this work, was an important collector of books, drawings and prints. He was also a founding member of the Roxburghe Club.
Bonington’s watercolor illustrates this passage from Sir Walter Scott's novel Peveril of the Peak, which was first published in 1823. The novel is set in 1678 and tells the story of two Derbyshire landowners, Sir Geoffrey Peveril, an old Cavalier, and Major Ralph Bridgenorth, a Puritan. Their children, Julian (Peveril) and Alice (Bridgenorth) are in love, but their relationship is jeopardised when the Popish Plot of that year exposes their fathers’ differences. All is not lost however, as the tale ends when the King insists that Sir Geoffrey and Bridgenorth reconcile and consent to their children’s marriage. The present work has been dated to circa 1826 and was engraved in 1830 by Bonington’s friend William Enson, as the frontispiece to Robert Cadell’s edition of the story.
Edward Vernon Utterson, the probable first owner of this work, was an important collector of books, drawings and prints. He was also a founding member of the Roxburghe Club.
1. Noon, loc. cit.