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Lot Essay
Blake Richmond spent three years in Rome, from 1866-69, where he studied the Old Masters and his style shifted from its early Pre-Raphaelite tendencies towards the unique combination of classicism and aestheticism which would define his career. Whilst the majority of his exhibited works were allegorical or classical in subject, portraiture remained central to his commercial success throughout his life.
Richmond's time in Italy remained central, and in 1880 he delivered a series of lectures to the Slade on Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes. The handling and pose of the present sheet, executed two years later, recall red chalk drawings by the Florentine artist Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530).
Gaetono Meo (1849-1925) was a Pre-Raphaelite model, as well as an artist in his own right. He sat for Simeon Solomon, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and extensively for Sir Edward Burne-Jones, notably for Phyllis and Demophoön (Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery) and Love Among the Ruins (sold in these Rooms, 11 July 2013, lot 3). In 1872 he met Blake Richmond and became his model, student and studio assistant, eventually leading the team which executed Blake Richmond's mosaics at St Paul's Cathedral.
The inscription 'all'amico' - to a friend, suggests the intimacy between the two men.
Richmond's time in Italy remained central, and in 1880 he delivered a series of lectures to the Slade on Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel frescoes. The handling and pose of the present sheet, executed two years later, recall red chalk drawings by the Florentine artist Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530).
Gaetono Meo (1849-1925) was a Pre-Raphaelite model, as well as an artist in his own right. He sat for Simeon Solomon, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and extensively for Sir Edward Burne-Jones, notably for Phyllis and Demophoön (Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery) and Love Among the Ruins (sold in these Rooms, 11 July 2013, lot 3). In 1872 he met Blake Richmond and became his model, student and studio assistant, eventually leading the team which executed Blake Richmond's mosaics at St Paul's Cathedral.
The inscription 'all'amico' - to a friend, suggests the intimacy between the two men.