WILLIAM DYCE, R.A., H.R.S.A. | Neptune Resigning to Britannia the Empire of the Sea, a scheme for a fresco at Osborne House

Presented by Prince Albert to H.M. Queen Victoria in 1847;
Windsor castle Inventory, 1872, no.647 'Queen's Personal Property';
Thence to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught;
Thence to Princess Victoria Patricia, Lady Ramsay of Ribsden Holt, Windlesham, Surrey;
Her sale Christie's, London, 26 July 1974, no.252;
Thomas Agnew & Sons, London;
The Forbes Magazine Collection, from whom sold by The Fine Arts Society, London

Royal Academy, 1847, no.42;
Aberdeen Art Gallery and London, Thomas Agnew & Sons, William Dyce, RA (1806-1864), 1964, no.25;
Ottawa, National Gallery of Art, Victorian Artists in England, 1965, no.30;
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art and American tour, The Royal Academy (1837-1901) Revisited - Victorian Paintings from the Forbes Magazine Collection, 1975-6,  no.11

Art Union, 1847, p.186;
The Illustrated London News, 8 May 1847, p.297;
James Dafforne, “British Artists: Their Style and Character: William Dyce, RA,” Art Journal, 1860, p.296;
Robert Brydall, Art in Scotland: Its Origin and Progress, Edinburgh and London, 1889, p.402;
Charles Henry Cope, Reminiscences of Charles West Cope, RA, by His Son, London, 1891, pp.167, 171-173;
James Stirling Dyce, “The Life, Correspondence, and Writing of William Dyce, RA, 1806-1864,” unpublished typescript by Dyce’s son in the Aberdeen Art Gallery, pp.870, 973

This picture is in very good condition. The board is providing a stable support and there is only one very small area of craquelure to the left of the hippocampus in the background and further small areas on the mermaid in the foreground. UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT There are flecked cosmetic retouching throughout but these have been well-executed and are not excessive. FRAME This picture is contained in an attractive moulded plaster and gilt frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

When the present picture was shown as Dyce’s only exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1847 it was described in the catalogue as ‘Sketch for a picture to be painted at Osborne House for Her Majesty and H.R.H. Prince Albert’. It seems likely that it was painted to show the Royal couple how the fresco for the staircase at their Isle of Wight residence would look when complete. The finished wall painting, completed in the same year, measures seventeen feet wide by ten feet high and differs only in small details from the present work. On 13 January 1847, following a lunch with the Queen and Prince, Dyce told his fellow artist Charles West Cope that his design had been well-received; ‘Prince thought it rather nude; the Queen, however, said not at all.’ This remark demonstrates Queen Victoria’s lack of coyness in her artistic tastes. The dozen towering nudes, including the God of the Oceans Neptune and his cohort Amphitrite, accompanied by tritons and sea-nymphs, a putto and centaur, delighted the Queen but Dyce reported that ‘The nursery maids and French governesses have been sadly scandalised by the nudities.’ The Prince took a very active interest in the painting of the fresco and in another letter to Cope, Dyce wrote of his frustration; ‘… when you are about to paint a sky seventeen feet long by some five feet broad, I don’t advise you to have a Prince looking in upon you every ten minutes or so – or when you are going to trace an outline to obtain the assistance of the said Prince and an Archduke Constantine to hold up your tracing to the wall, as I have had. It is very polite, condescending, and so forth, very amusing to Princes and Archdukes, but rather embarrassing to the artist.’ The Italianate villa style of Osborne had initially inspired Dyce to choose a theme from Boccaccio for his fresco but his patrons preferred a subject depicting Neptune and his retinue presenting his crown and other wealthy gifts to the allegorical figure of Britannia, due to the proximity of the sea. Dyce remained inspired by Italian art and borrowed elements from the work of Raphael in his design, specifically from the decorations at the Villa Farnesina in Rome. The tritons blowing conch-bugles and leading the Hippocampi that draw Neptune’s chariot, are very similar to figures in the Rome ceiling.



‘brilliant in colour, and original in style; the narrative so perspicuous as to require no descriptive title’.
Art Union, 1847, P.186