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Heads of Christ and Apollo

Drawing
1888 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Illustration depicting the heads of Christ and Apollo, facing each other.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleHeads of Christ and Apollo (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Chalk drawing on paper
Brief description
Drawing, 'Heads of Christ and Apollo', illustration to A.C. Swinburne's poem 'Hymn to Proserpine', by Simeon Solomon, chalk, British School, 1888
Physical description
Illustration depicting the heads of Christ and Apollo, facing each other.
Dimensions
  • Height: 14in
  • Width: 20 1/4in
Styles
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • VINCISTI GALILAEE PALLIDE (From Algernon Charles Swinburne's poem "Hymn to Proserpine")
  • S.S. 1888 (Monogram and date)
Object history
Purchased, 1909

Purchased from Messers Duncan & Kimpton Auctioneers 27 May 1909; J. Redding Wane
Bibliographic references
  • The following excerpts are taken from the GLBTQ Archive Encyclopedia, © 2015, glbtq, Inc.: "Associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th century, Simeon Solomon lived a life marked by both stunning success and unfortunate tragedy. Significant in LGBTQ culture for living openly as a gay man in the Victorian period, at a time when it was not at all socially acceptable to do so, he wrote an important prose poem in 1870 that may be read as a defense of male-male desire. Privately published, it was entitled A Vision of Love Revealed in Sleep. Around this time, he was also creating works depicting androgynous male figures who are representative of homoerotic love. The opening of the Dudley Gallery in London in 1865 allowed Solomon and other artists to exhibit works with more daring subjects than those accepted at the Royal Academy. During these years Solomon created such works of homoerotic content as 'Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytelene' (1864), 'Love among the School Boys' (1866), 'The Bride and Bridegroom' (1866), 'Sad Love' (1866), 'Love in Autumn' (1866), and two versions of 'Bacchus' (1866 and 1867). Although he had earned recognition as an artist in his lifetime, Solomon's life and career deteriorated after his arrest for "buggery" in 1873. He may be seen as a victim of late 19th century English homophobia as he lived most of the remaining 32 years of his life as a social outcast and his work faded into oblivion after his death in 1905. It has only recently been re-examined".
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design, Accessions 1909, London: Printed For His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1910
Collection
Accession number
E.2323-1909

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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