William Henry Hunt, Still Life with Holly in a Tankard and Grapes Against a Mossy Background, Exhibited 1863

Still Life with Holly in a Tankard and Grapes Against a Mossy Background

Private Collection

Watercolor and bodycolor

5 3/4 X 4 1/2 in., 14.6 X 11.4 cm.

Signed twice, l.l and l.r., W. HUNT

 

Provenance:

(S) Christie's, 28 Oct 1861, Lot 879 (P) £36 15s.

(S) Christie's South Kensington, 1 July 2004, Lot 262 (P) £4,541, $8,242 by the present owner

 

 

This still life may not appear quite so unusual, at first glance at least, as Hunt's watercolor of an orange and a pewter pitcher, but the subject takes just as much imagination to explain. Perhaps the owner of that mug and those grapes was having a little snack and something a little stronger to wash it down when he was smitten by some colorful holly growing outside his window. He went out to pick a sprig of holly to brighten up his home, only to have the door of his cottage close behind him. The deed being done, he tries to open his door but finds it difficult with squishy grapes along with prickly holly in one hand and a heavy metal mug in the other. So he sets everything down to open the door.

 

While some might not feel the need to find the story behind such a picture, and even though the one I propose may not have quite the allegorical depth that some find in more formal, 17th and early 18th century Dutch still lifes, one must admit that Hunt's rather rare watercolors with odd combinations of objects on the ground are somewhat more thought provoking than most paintings of still life. But I must admit that Hunt probably had no concerns over the chances of still life subjects being seen in the course of daily life. He once said that he wished his still lifes of fruit would be seen as bits of color instead of something nice to eat. From the attention Hunt gave to every detail of his paintings, I doubt that most of his contemporaries even knew that such abstract notions were running through the head of an artist seen by many as concerned with nothing more than the mere unidealiized imitation of humble objects. In fact, Hunt was highly sophisticated in his theories of painting, his composition and use of color, and in the techniques he devised to achieve such naturalistic images, and it is easy for the viewer to overlook the thought that went into his resulting work.

 

Note the very subtile reflections of grapes, holly berries, and even the moss covered clumps of dirt on the tankard.

 

There is a true anomaly in this work which is easier to explain. Although this is a small watercolor, the artist signed it twice, both on the lower right and lower left. This was probably not done by mistake, since, even if Hunt had thought that he had not yet signed the work and was about to sign it again, the artist could hardly miss seeing his own signature just a couple of inches away. The signature on the left, however, is slightly higher than the one on the right, which probably implies that the original signature (the one on the right) was covered by a mount when the watercolor was framed and that the artist was asked to sign the picture again, just slightly higher up. The unusual angle of the letters of the left signature might have resulted from the difficulty encountered in signing a picture which was already framed, trying to place the letters as close as possible to the mount without having them stand out by being completely frontal and in the picture plane. There is one example of Hunt having signed a watercolor three times, in one of the two versions of the picture variously known as "Off to Bed" and "Light and Shade," which shows a Black Boy in darkness, holding a candle as he begins to open a door.

 

 

 

Done