Lot 48: * Richard Doyle (British, 1824-1883) The enchanted fairy tree, or a fantasy based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare

* Richard Doyle (British, 1824-1883) The enchanted fairy tree, or a fantasy based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare
The enchanted fairy tree, or a fantasy based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare
watercolour and bodycolour over traces of pencil
89 x 62cm (35 1/16 x 24 7/16in).

Footnotes

• Provenance
  Anon. sale, Decoration Co, Melbourne, 7 August 1964.
  Private collection, Australia (acquired from the above for £52.10).
  Thence by descent to the present owner.
  
  Exhibited
  (Either this or another version dated 1845) London, Grosvenor Gallery, The works of Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., and a collection of drawings by the late Richard Doyle 1885, no. 232 (titled The Enchanted Tree).
  
  Literature
  Victorian Fairy Painting, exhibition catalogue, Royal Academy, London; The University of Iowa Museum of Art and The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 1997-1998, no. 51 (illustrating and describing Doyle's unpublished sketchbook, More Nonsense from Dick of 1843, which includes a pen and ink drawing of the same composition as here; and no. 52, illustrating and describing another version of this watercolour (lent by Jimmy Page) which, dated 1845 and of similar size, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1868 under the title The Enchanted Tree).
  
  The present lot bears an old label on the reverse noting: "133 Doyle (Richard) – An Original Water Colour Drawing, representing a magician with his baton standing on terra firma, conjuring up a fictitious realm in the form of an Isle covered with shrubs, and bushes, and peopled with sea nymphs dancing in contortious movements to the tunes played on a lute by one of them, frolicsome and grotesque figures, monsters with their appalling looks and frantic gestures, gruesome and fierce creatures in human shape, bent on mischief and diabolic tricks, picturesque groups, and squirrels, imps and apes scattered about, the whole being blended into an harmonious ensemble most vivid in effect, measuring 35 by 24 ins, in the old handsome carved gilt frame / In this which we believe to be Doyle's largest work and his masterpiece, the artist allowed his fertile imagination full play, and the wealth of details accumulated in this picture, and the consummate skill he exhibits in handling so intricate a subject entitles him to be ranked among the best artists of the day. It may truly be surmised that his love of the little mites inspired him to produce such noble work for their decoration. If the artist had in mind Shakespeare's stirring play The Tempest, when making his sketch, such figures as Prospero, Caliban, Ariel, Trinculo, Stephano, Ferdinand and Miranda could easily find their place in it."
  
  Fairy painting did not begin with the Victorians but in their hands it found its fullest expression. Their interest was multi-layered, embracing such aspects as the desire to explore the subconscious mind, the advent of spiritualism as well as the wish to escape the harsh realities of the material, industrial and scientific world – themes that have as much relevance today as they did then. The Victorians also had an insatiable appetite for subject paintings and ones that told a story, whether based on a topical theme or those inspired by literature. Of them Kinder- und Hausmärchen by the brothers Grimm (first published in England, 1823 under the title German Popular Stories) was a popular source, as too were Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. The present watercolour is based on the latter.
  
  This exciting new discovery, crammed with an array of fantastic creatures, sprites, nymphs, fairies and monsters, together with animals, human figures and exotic vegetation is a masterpiece of extravaganza that shows Richard Doyle at his best. It is one of two large watercolour versions. The other, dated 1845 and slightly smaller (81.3 x 58.4 cm), was shown at the Royal Academy in 1868 (noted in the Master Catalogue as not for sale). That was 23 years after its creation and was one of only two works by Doyle to hang at the Summer Exhibition. Either the latter or this work was also exhibited after Doyle's death at the Grosvenor Gallery, 1885 where "One of the most important of his watercolour drawings 'The Enchanted Tree' (232), a huge palm, peopled with hundreds of quaint creatures, fairies emerging from flowering plants, mischieful imps, butterflies, and so on, is a work of patient industry and skill" (John Bull, 3rd Jan 1885, p. 16). The Manchester Courier (16th Feb 1885, p. 5) described it as "inexpressibly full of movement, variety of elfin character, and magic", while a review in The Artist of 1885 (vol. 6, p. 39) noted "A comparatively large water-colour (232) would alone repay examination of a morning. The figures circling round the enchanted tree, the lovers in the arbour to the left, the little sprites and fays inhabiting the air, display a power of drawing the human figure, both in motion and in repose, with which, strange as it now appears, Doyle, in his lifetime was by no means invariably credited." We also know from the label verso that this work was exhibited elsewhere. Whilst the label may refer to its sale at auction in Melbourne, 1964, the style of prose is closer to that of the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
  
  Although the individual details slightly differ, compositionally the two versions are very similar; the main distinction being that the dated watercolour was either intended or framed to have an arched top. Whilst Doyle's two watercolours were based on The Tempest he deliberately avoided depicting a specific scene, nor did he provide an accompanying quotation from Shakespeare's play within the RA 1868 exhibition catalogue. Rather he was more interested in establishing a feeling for the same supernatural atmosphere that pervaded The Tempest itself. As in the play the setting is an island where Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, had been washed ashore on a raft along with his three-year-old daughter Miranda and his books of magic spells. For the next twelve years he and Miranda were the island's only inhabitants except for Caliban, a deformed creature that Prospero had magically ordered to become his slave. There were also numerous spirits on the island, amongst whom was Ariel who Prospero rescued from being trapped in a tree by Caliban's mother, a witch named Sycorax. Shakespeare tells how, after twelve years of being marooned, Prospero orchestrates a mighty tempest at sea causing his former enemies on board a ship to be wrecked and cast onto the island. Among them is Alonso, the King of Naples, his brother Sebastian as well as Prospero's brother Antonio who, now Duke of Milan and with the help of Alonso, had originally usurped Prospero from power. Fellow passengers also washed ashore include Alonso's son Ferdinand, Trincalo a court jester, Stephano a boisterous butler and Gonzolo an old Milanese courtier.
  
  The complex plot unfolds to describe how Alonso fears that his son Ferdinand did not survive the tempest, how the latter and Miranda fall in love at first sight and how Prospero tries to prevent their relationship developing too quickly. Meanwhile Ariel begs that Prospero releases him from servitude but Prospero reminds him of his position and orders Ariel to be transformed into a sea nymph, to make himself invisible and continue to be his aide so as to gain his early freedom. In another part of the island, Antonio persuades Sebastian that if he kills Alonso he would become King of Naples but the plot is foiled by Ariel. Meanwhile Caliban recruits Trincalo and Stephano to overthrow Prospero but again Ariel intervenes. The play concludes by Prospero freeing Ariel, forgiving those who had plotted against him, Miranda and Ferdinand's betrothal and Prospero's rightful return to his dukedom.
  
  Since Doyle's work recreates an illusion rather than a part or even a summary of the play, many of the incidents within The Tempest are alluded to rather than specifically represented. Yet amongst the fabulous array of fairy forms, spirits and Bosch-like creatures that inhabit the land and air, specific characters and scenes emerge. Among them are the two lovers Miranda and Ferdinand who are seen to the left while Ferdinand may also be seen kneeling beside Prospero in the foreground. Then there is Ariel who, with other sea nymphs, dances mid-air around the tree and may also be seen playing music atop the right-hand palm fronds.
  
  Richard Doyle was not alone in finding inspiration in The Tempest. Another great master of Victorian fairy painting was Richard Dadd whose Come unto these Yellow Sands was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1842. Prior to that David Scott had shown Ariel and Caliban at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1838 while Paul Falconer Poole exhibited three scenes from The Tempest in 1849. Likewise, Ferdinand Lured by Ariel by Sir John Everett Millais hung at the Royal Academy in 1850 and fellow Pre-Raphaelite, Arthur Hughes depicted another version of Ferdinand and Ariel, circa 1851-58.
  
  Like Dadd, Sir Joseph Noel Paton, John Anster Fitzgerald and other leading painters of fairy scenes, Doyle was not only concerned with their mystical allure but also minutia of detail in which the whole picture plane is filled with fantastic creatures. But what singles Doyle out from the rest is his humour and preference toward the gentler rather than darker side of magic – an aspect that reflected his genial nature. Richard Doyle, also known as Dick, was born in London into a rather remarkable family. His Irish born father John (who signed his work HB) was a caricaturist and political satirist; Dick's younger brother Henry Edward became the Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, his eldest brother James William was an historian and artist while his youngest brother Charles Altamont also illustrated fantasy scenes but is perhaps better known as the father of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famed as the creator of Sherlock Holmes.
  
  Primarily a book illustrator of themes from everyday life and fairy subjects, Doyle's infinite skill and creative imagination was present from an early age. Aged fifteen he began a diary filled with illustrations that defied his youth and then in 1843, aged nineteen he joined the staff at Punch. For the next seven years he was a regular contributor to its pages, designing its iconic cover in 1849. However, the following year Doyle, who was a devout Catholic, resigned from Punch owing to their anti-papal leanings. 1851 saw him illustrating Ruskin's The King of the Golden River followed by Thackeray's The Newcomers, William Allingham's In Fairyland and many others. In addition to pure illustrative work Doyle executed some admirable fairy pictures both in oil and watercolour. As here, the latter were usually sizeable, included numerous figures and animals and often featured the roots or branches of a tree, as in The Fairy Tree (Cotsen Children's Library, Princeton University Library).
  
  In a letter to his father dated 10th September 1843, Doyle wrote "I would prefer doing something serious next, but whether it be an illustration of the History of England, of France, of the Low Countries, of Lord Byron's Corsair, of any of Walter Scott's historical novels, of Victor Hugo's Legend of the Rhine, of the 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' The Tempest, the 'Fairie Queene, or anything else that is interesting, it is all the same to me." From the same year came one of Doyle's early sketchbooks (unpublished; dated 1843). The first full page features a highly detailed pen and ink drawing of the same dual-stemmed palm tree encircled by dancing sea nymphs that we see here. Likewise, Prospero stands in the same position as do so many other figures in and around the central tree. This is how the genesis for this composition began which Doyle then worked up into his large-scale watercolour of 1845. When exactly the present version was executed is unknown but it can be assumed to be of a similar date. Interestingly when the dated version was included in the Richard Doyle and his Family exhibition, held at the V&A, 1983-84 and again at the Victorian Fairy Painting show in 1997-98, no reference was made to the present watercolour, implying that at that stage its existence was still unknown. But that is understandable since from at least 1964 up until the present day it has been in a private collection in Australia, where Doyle had a strong following, both during and after his lifetime.
  
  We are grateful to Alice Munro-Faure for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.