Edward Poynter

(1836- 1919)

 

Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet GCVO, PRA was an English painter, designer, and draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Poynter

Orpheus and Eurydice
1862
Oil on canvas
51 x 71 cm
Private collection (sold at Christie’s on 10 Dec 2020 for GBP 437,500)
https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-6290737/?intObjectID=6290737

 

Ancient Greek authors as Strabo and Plutarch note Orpheus's Thracian origins. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music (the usual scene in Orpheus mosaics), his attempt to retrieve his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and his death at the hands of the maenads of Dionysus, who tired of his mourning for his late wife Eurydice. As an archetype of the inspired singer, Orpheus is one of the most significant figures in the reception of classical mythology in Western culture, portrayed or alluded to in countless forms of art and popular culture including poetry, film, opera, music, and painting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus