The Springs of Lethe, 1896

Huile sur toile signée et datée en bas à gauche dans un spectaculaire encadrement d’époque
Toile 185 x 91 cm
Avec encadrement 229 x 150 x 13 cm

Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1898 and at Earl’s Court in 1900, this amazing canvas has been painted by Ella M. Bedford (act.1882-1908), a British woman artist.
The Victorian art was originally focused on a realism-centric style which hearkened back to classic Greek and Roman spirit, through a series of influences which brought in the use of brighter colors and more emotional strokes. Then, the late Victorian paintings (1890-1901) have turned into mythology and fantasy; this was the time when adding sculptures of Gods and Goddesses became an obsession for the art lovers.
The “Fin-de-Siècle” painting embraces symbolism, decadence and all related phenomena which reached a peak in 1890s, also called the Mauve Decade and the Yellow Decade. Ella M. Bedford builds a bridge between Symbolism and Art Nouveau, as a woman artist precursor.

> Collection privée, Suède
> Peter Nahum Gallery, Londres (étiquette au dos)
> Collection privée, Athènes

> Catalogue of “The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art, the 130th.”, 1898, Londres, listé sous le n°658, p. 27 (https://cutt.ly/FFHYCrx)
> Woman’s... Exhibition, Earl’s Court, Spottiswoode & Co, London, 1900, listé sous le n°1128, p.23 (https://cutt.ly/eFHDu3X)

> The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art, the 130th., Gallery n°VIII 1898, Londres (Grande-Bretagne)
> Woman’s... Exhibition, Earl’s Court, Fine Art Section, Room n°1, du 4 au 14 avril 1900, Londres (Grande-Bretagne)

Petits éclats, craquelures, repeints, rentoilé