George Spencer Watson

My Lady of the Rose Portrait of Hilda, the Artist's Wife - British oil painting

1911

This stunning British Victorian Pre-Raphaelite Royal Academy exhibited oil painting is by noted historical female artist and suffragette Jessie MacGregor. She was tutored by Lord Frederick Leighton at the Royal Academy art schools in the 1870's and his influence can be seen here. Painted in 1892 and exhibited that year, the subject matter is when Dante, (1265-1321) later an Italian Florentine poet, first met Beatrice, the love of his life when he was nine. They met in a gathering at her father's palazzo in Florence. She was a few months younger than Dante and dressed in a crimson dress. They never actually spoke for another nine years although Dante often observed her. They were both married off during this time, as was the custom then and Beatrice died aged only 24. Dante remained devoted to Beatrice for the rest of his life and she was his principal inspiration for much of his well known work, such as La Vita Nuova (The New Life) and La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy). (see below biography for more details on Dante and Beatrice). This stunning Pre-Raphaelite oil painting depicts Beatrice kneeling on the grass, holding flowers and gazing up at Dante as he stands beside her, hands over her head, perhaps miming crowning her. Other children and their maids dance around them. Beyond them is a Florentine garden with beautiful arches and some figures to the right. To the left one can glimpse the landscape under a summer's sky. MacGregor has portrayed superb detail in the figures expressions and clothing with rich red and gold tones and the vivid blue sky echoing in the little boy's tunic. The brushwork is fantastic. MacGregor painted some fantastic paintings in her time, many of which were exhibited and now hang in art galleries. This painting is a superb example of her work, with excellent provenance and would grace any wall. Signed twice 'Jessie Macgregor/1892' lower right. Provenance. Anon. sale, Sotheby's, Belgravia, 11 December 1972, lot 195. Exhibited London, Royal Academy, 1892, no. 905 entitled In the Childhood of Dante. From this time forward love ruled my heart. Literature Royal Academy Illustrated, 1892, p. 78. Condition. Oil on canvas, 65 inches by 35 inches and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a gilt frame with ornate flower corners and reeded edge, 87 inches by 57 inches, in good condition. Jessie MacGregor (1847–1919) was a British painter. She was born in Liverpool to a Scottish father, Alexander (1820-1898) and Liverpudlian mother, Sarah (1820-1894). She had an older brother and 7 younger siblings. MacGregor first learned drawing at the drawing academy in Liverpool run by her grandfather Andrew Hunt, a landscape painter. Her mother taught her to use water colours. Her parents went to live in London and she began to study painting there, becoming a pupil at the Royal Academy Schools in 1870 for seven years where her teachers were Lord Leighton, P. H. Calderon, R.A., and John Pettie, R.A. She won a gold medal at the Royal Academy for history painting in December 1871, the prescribed subject being An Act of Mercy. She was the second woman after Louisa Starr's gold medal in 1867, and the last woman to do so until 1909. She first exhibited at the RA whilst still a student, in 1871. She continued with a historical genre when history paintings were broadening their reach towards literature and romance. Her subjects were almost always women or children. MacGregor was made an Academician for the Liverpool Academy of Art in 1874. By 1880 she was using a studio on Elm Tree Road and exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy. in 1884 her brother Archibald also started working from this address and they both had paintings at the RA that year. In 1888 she moved studio to Hill Road St John's Wood. In 1892 MacGregor had two painting at the RA, a portrait of Miss Phyllis Eden and our painting, In the Childhood of Dante. This was described as a fresh bit of Italian Childhood and harmonious colour grouping by the Western Daily Press. Portraits rarely got a mention in the papers but narrative works were much more popular. She lectured widely for the Victorian University extension scheme at the Arts Clubs of Liverpool, the National Gallery and Leighton House museum and other regional centres. MacGregor had a studio in Chalcot Gardens Hampstead from 1900 and began to get involved with women's issues. In 1904 she was on the committee of the Lyceum Club London along side Henrietta...

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