ATTRIBUTED TO DANIEL MACLISE, R.A. | THE HEAVENLY HOST

Private Collection, Beverly Hills 

Acquired from the above circa 2009

A prolific draughtsman, illustrator and caricaturist, especially for Fraser’s Magazine, and illustrated books, Daniel Maclise is best remembered for the four enormous murals in the House of Lords, executed between the late 1840s and the 1860s, including The Meeting of Wellington and Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo and The Death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, both commissioned for the Royal Gallery of the Palace of Westminster and created in close contact with Prince Albert and Queen Victoria.

The inspiration for the present work is yet to be determined, but as suggested by its title may be taken from Dante's Divine Comedy and its evocative description of Paradise.