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Dante and Beatrice
Holiday, Henry George Alexander, born 1839 - died 1927 - Enlarge image
Dante and Beatrice
- Object:
Drawing
- Place of origin:
Britain (made)
- Date:
c.1880 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Holiday, Henry George Alexander, born 1839 - died 1927 (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
brown and black inks, pencil and black chalk
- Credit Line:
Given by Miss Winifred Holiday
- Museum number:
E.1376-1927
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case PD, shelf 65
This is a preliminary drawing for an oil painting that became Holiday's most famous work. The oil is now in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. Holiday began planning the picture in 1864, and it was finally exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in London in 1883. It depicts an episode in the love affair between Dante, the early Renaissance poet, and Beatrice. Dante, waiting on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, sees his beloved walking on the banks of the River Arno with three companions, but she rejects his greeting. It differs considerably from the finished picture. One of the girls behind Beatrice was removed and the costume of the third girl simplified.
