11th Feb, 2020 10:00

Out of the Ordinary

 
  Lot 62
 

62

John Simmons (1823-1876)

JOHN SIMMONS (1823-1876)
TITANIA IN THE FAIRY KINGDOM
Signed and dated 'J. SIMMONS / 1871', watercolour on paper
40.8 x 51.5 cm

John Simmons was a British miniature painter and illustrator, known primarily for his watercolours of ethereal fairyland scenes, often illustrating Shakespearian or other literary works (such as his illustrations for 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'). He was one of several popular Victorian artists who together created 'the genre of the forest idyll' in their fairy paintings. They are often grouped with the Pre-Raphaelites. Simmons lived in Bristol, and also painted portraits. He was elected to membership of the Bristol Academy of the Fine Arts in 1849. He died in November 1876 and is buried at Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol.

The typical fairy painting is strongly rooted in the literary influences of Romanticism, as well as in the Victorian cultural period. Among the most significant of these influences were the themes of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. Other literary works, such as Edmund Spenser's 'The Faerie Queene' and Alexander Pope's 'The Rape of the Lock' have been cited as contributing influences as well. Interest in the fairy painting genre saw a revival in the 19th century, allowing observers of the imaginary world shown in the paintings a respite from the austerity of the Victorian way of life. The majority of Simmons' paintings are simple and generally portray one or two main figures set within a framework of foliage. This example is one of his more ambitious compositions. Titania was frequently a subject of his artwork, shown delicately draped in a variety of poses. He portrays the fairy queen as a paradigm of Victorian female beauty using the winding flowers and convolvulus as a decorative motif. Blurring the boundaries between reality and dreams, he creates a poetic vision. According to Christopher Wood, Simmons' technique demonstrates the influence of Joseph Noel Paton, who utilised a very detailed style. Wood also suggested further influences came from William Edward Frost and William Etty. Simmons' paintings of fairies are given a surreal effect by his skilful use of light and the realistic detail he adopts for portraying the animals and plants. Wood described Simmons' 'A Fairy among Convolvulus' as 'a typical Simmons pin-up' and hypothesised the paintings were 'distinctly titillating'. Other pieces of artwork by Simmons with a fairy theme include: 'Hermia and the Fairies', which was also based on Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and completed in 1861; 'The Honey Bee Steals from the Bumble Bees'; and 'The Evening Star'.

This example may well be a scene from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. There is a much larger human figure with a sword clad in the mist, blissfully unaware of the fantastic creatures in the foreground.

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Sold for £4,500


 

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Auction: Out of the Ordinary, 11th Feb, 2020

Viewing

7 February 2020, 9am - 5pm
9 February 2020, 10am - 1pm
10 February 2020, 9am - 5pm
11 February 2020, from 9am

Removal of Lots

All lots should be removed by 5pm on Friday 21 February 2020.  Selected lots remaining after this date will be removed to:  Perry Removals, Chapel End, Broxted, Essex CM6 2BW.  Removal will be at a cost of £20 per lot and storage will be charged at £2 per lot, per day.

 

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