Lot 39: Jason and the Dragon

Raphael Lamar West (1769-1850)
Jason and the Dragon
numbered 'No. 8' (on the reverse upper left) and with inscription 'Copy Jason S Rosa/R L West/£1-10' (on the reverse lower right)
pencil, pen and brown ink, unframed
17 5/8 x 11¼ in. (44.6 x 28.6 cm.)

The artist's family, and by descent to
Mrs P. Howard; Sotheby's, London, 22 March 1979, lot 4, where purchased by the present owner, as by Benjamin West.

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.
This is a copy after an etching of the same title and similar size by Salvator Rosa (Bartsch 18). It shows the climactic moment of the myth of the hero Jason, who travelled with his Argonauts to the Isle of Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece. His final challenge was to overcome the unsleeping dragon which guarded the Fleece. He did so by dousing the dragon with a sleeping potion given to him by the daughter of the King of Colchis, Medea, whom he subsequently married. This drawing probably dates from before 1785 and may be connected with a lost picture by Benjamin West, also derived from Salvator Rosa's composition (von Erffa & Staley, loc. cit ).