email address

If you are interested in Pre-Raphaelites, 19th century British art and/or colour theories, send your e-mail address to skolsteren@csi.com and you will receive the full text with notes (as a zip-file) and bibliography. Unfortunately, I cannot send you the colour plates at this moment but you are referred to the sources in other publications.

For Pre-Raphaelite paintings, link to: http://www.webmagick.co.uk/prcoll

LOOK AT THE DOT IN THE CENTRE FOR TEN SECONDS;

THEN CLOSE YOUR EYES.

IN A FEW MOMENTS, THE COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS WILL APPEAR.

Links: for more experiments with Goethe's theory, see: http://www.iw.org/sm/goethe
To visit the CompuServe homepage, follow this link

Simeon Solomon and Dalziel's Bible Gallery

STEVEN KOLSTEREN

SIMEON SOLOMON AND DALZIEL'S BIBLE GALLERY

The first detailed study of Solomon's illustrations for the Dalziel Brothers, with 17 illustrations.If you are not receiving all of the illustrations, please email to skolsteren@csi.com fur a full copy.

Simeon Solomon and Dalziel's Bible Gallery

STEVEN KOLSTEREN

SIMEON SOLOMON AND DALZIEL'S BIBLE GALLERY

Introduction

In the first years of the 1860's, an ambitious plan took shape in the minds of the Dalziel brothers. George (1815-1902), Edward (1817-1905) and John Dalziel (1822-1865), engravers and editors, intended to publish a luxurious fully illustrated Bible. They felt themselves attracted to the world of art. As engravers, they were considered the leading experts in rendering originals in hard Turkish boxwood, leaving the lines of the drawing in relief with their burins. In this difficult process, they succeeded in capturing the fine nuances much to the satisfaction of the artists. Their youngest brother, Thomas (1823-1906) was an artist himself mainly working for the firm.

For their project, they selected the most promising artists of the time, primarily those who had already made illustrations for books and magazines. Art journals with their increasing amount of exhibition reviews demanded illustrations. Likewise, volumes of poetry with narrative and vivid details were published with corresponding images (1). The sale of prints after paintings became a commercial success (2). How did young artists respond to the challenge and the invitation? How does an artist, once selected, try to convince the Dalziels to accept more designs? Will he deliver existing works or does he try to experiment with new themes?

Which possibilities for sale and exhibitions can be gained from these contributions? And finally, what are the consequences for the development of the artist's own style? These questions, which are valid for each period including ours and each commission, will be treated in this article discussing the relations between the Dalziels and a young artist, Simeon Solomon (1840-1905).

The letter and the first designs of Solomon

18 John Street Bedford Row

Dear Mr. Dalziel,

When I told my brother how well you liked the drawing I had made for you, he was as fully pleased as I had been; you may be sure that I shall always endeavour by working carefully to merit the same pleasing acknowledgment. I have written to both of the gentlemen who have my pictures asking them if they will allow me to make drawings of them. I have no doubt that they will do so. I hope so, and as soon as I am able, I shall commence the drawings. I have been making a watercolour picture lately which I am now finishing of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the furnace under the protection of the Angel. I think it would make an original subject for a wood drawing and I should much like to do it if a chance should occur. I should like you to see if you would find the time to call upon me at my studio 22 Charles Street, Middlesex Hospital, letting me know if possible, beforehand when you will come in order that I may not be out.

I remain

yours very sincerely

Simeon Solomon

This letter, in the possession of the author, is undated, but it must have been written at the end of 1862. Solomon had a studio at 22 Charles Street in the years 1862- 1864(3).Although the watercolour "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego", which he says he "is now finishing" is inscribed "10/63", the reference to the brother -undoubtedly the painter Abraham Solomon- fixes the date, because Abraham died on 19 December 1862(4). The artist states that he has written to both of the owners of his paintings, asking permission to reproduce the compositions in drawings. Clearly, these pictures show original Biblical subjects known to the engravers, who, eagerly hunting for designs, had expressed the wish to include them in their illustrated Bible.

Therefore, it is likely that he refers to "The Mother of Moses" and "Hosannah! (A Young Musician employed in the Temple Service during the Feast of Tabernacles)" (5)

"The Mother of Moses" was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1860 (no 346), Solomon's second appearance there, and "Hosannah!" was shown the following year (no 493). Both subjects are among the six by Solomon finally reproduced in the Bible when it appeared in 1881.

In their book "The Brothers Dalziel. A Record of Fifty Years' Work", published in 1901, George and Edward Dalziel only refer to one of these paintings: "Hosannah! by S.Solomon, is also a very beautiful work. What joy and fervour of music are expressed in the drawing! We well remember the small picture he painted of the subject; it hung on the line at the R.A. and was looked upon as the work of a coming man." (p. 254).

This picture of a Jewish musician playing an instrument is based on a similar design in pen and brown ink, dated 1860 (Huntington Library, San Marino, Cal.). This drawing was sent by Edward Burne-Jones, a friend of Simeon's, to the collector of Pre-Raphaelite art Thomas Plint. It was a Christmas present together with some of his own works, probably the watercolours "Sidonia von Bork" and "The Blessed Damozel", both from 1860 (6). Plint seems to have been pleased. He acknowledged to the artist: "Thanks, my dear Sir, for the case and all the beautiful things of your's and Solomon's in it."(7). However, no commission resulted from this action, because Plint died the following year and Solomon's drawing was sold at Plint's sale, together with many Pre-Raphaelite works of art, at Christie's in 1862 (lot 90). Therefore, Solomon eagerly welcomed the new opportunity the Bible Gallery offered.

The "Hosannah!" engraved by the brothers Dalziel is based on a new drawing, as we know from the letter cited above, one that corresponds closely to the 1860- drawing and the oil picture (8). The background has been simplified to make the main figure more impressive. The painting "The Mother of Moses" from 1860 shows the mother caressing the baby in her arms, and Moses's sister Miriam with a basket ready to carry the little boy. In the background, a musical instrument is placed in front of an open window and a small bird is watching the scene (9). Like "Hosannah!", the new drawing by Solomon and the engraving of the Dalziels closely resemble the picture with the composition in reverse. Here, too, there are some modifications. For example, the bird in the window is no longer watching the scene indoors. The drawing mentioned by Solomon in the first sentence may be "Isaac and Rebekah". The Dalziel Brothers had engraved this one as an illustration for William Robertson's poem "The Veiled Bride" in the magazine Good Words (October 1862, no 154, p. 592) (10).

The theme "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego" does not appear in the Bible Gallery of 1881, but it was engraved by the Dalziels. As a result of the letter, they may have visited Solomon's studio. However, they apparently did not approve the composition of the watercolour he was making. Their engraving, where the Charity protecting the three youths in the fire is a bearded Christ and the figures themselves are more Hebrew in expression, in contrast to the watercolour, must have been done from a completely new drawing. Instead of admiring the "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego", they may have been moved by the drawing "Ruth, Naomi and the Child Obed" dating from 1860-1861.

The earliest composition is a pen and ink drawing dated 19-9-60 (City Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham). A watercolour version is dated 29-6-61 (11). The scene shows the aged Naomi tenderly holding the baby Obed, accompanied by her faithful daughter-in-law Ruth. The composition, including a window in the background, is very similar to"The Mother of Moses". It is highly probable that Solomon showed these designs at the occasion: the Dalziels accepted it for inclusion in their Bible Gallery.

These examples show that Solomon's themes fitted into the project, but also that sometimes his style was unacceptable.

There are other Solomons from this period one would think fine for the illustrated Bible, for example "The Finding of Moses", dated 4-4-62 (Hugh Lane Municipial Art Gallery, Dublin), one of his best works, that remained unexhibited until his death (12). This sequel to "The Mother of Moses" shows the Pharaoh's daughter with the baby Moses and a girl playing cymbals, the river Nile in the background. Probably this painting was unsuitable, because John Everett Millais had already treated this theme in 1858: "The Finding of Moses by Pharaoh's Daughter" in: The Lays of the Holy Land, engraved by the Dalziel Brothers (Brothers Dalziel 1901, p. 114). They will have preferred not to offend the more famous artist.

A highly original work is the watercolour "And the Sons of God saw the Daughters of Men that they were fair - Gen. VI,2", dated 11-63 (13). This would have been a perfect illustration. However, the choice may not have been purely a matter of editing and style. The treatment of the original and the technical procedures involved also played their part in these years.

The editors and the Bible Gallery

With their Bible Gallery, printed on fine India paper, a limited edition being published as a luxurious portfolio, the Dalziels obviously wanted to produce the most outstanding illustrated book of their time, combining their skills with the best works by the most promising Victorian artists. In their mind's eye, their Bible would surpass its source of inspiration, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld's life work , the "Bilderbibel", first published in 1851, that appeared in an English version in 1860 with no less than 240 illustrations (14).

Inspired by the twenty illustrations to the Parables commissioned from John Everett Millais, they consulted this successful artist and with the promise of a first design, "Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden", they approached other artists (Brothers Dalziel 1901, p. 98-101). The project offered high artistic standards, not only for the artists, but also for the young promising artists who were eager to partake, because at first there seemed to be no limit to the scope of the book and the amount of well-made illustrations.

The original concept, however, had to be abandoned as early as 1863, because of difficulties in finding an editor and successive frustrations in receiving the promised designs (Brothers Dalziel 1901, p. 101, p. 260). For the Dalziels, the Bible took many painful years to grow. When they finally published it in 1881, it also proved to be a commercial failure, only 200 copies of the 1000 being sold for five guineas.

Looking back at their work, the Dalziel brothers mention "insurmountable difficulties" soon arising (p. 260), mainly problems with artists who had selected subjects, but failed to deliver finished designs (for example, Millais: p. 98).

The correspondence quoted by the engravers in their book shows the enthusiasm of the artists concerning the choice of the themes. A letter by Frederic Leighton reads: "I have begun to consider the subjects you propose to me, and will shortly send you a list of the passages in the stories of Samson, of Elijah, and of Jezebel, which appear to me particularly to suggest illustrations. One question I would ask: when you spoke of "six designs" was it that you wished no more from those chapters, or was it that some are already given for variety to other hands, or that you thought I would not do more for you? I ask this because the subjects I shall send you may be more likely twelve than six. By-the-by, eventually when you get to the Apocalypse I have a great fancy to design the Four Riders." (p. 238).

Edward Poynter suggests five subjects from the Psalms in a letter dated 6 November 1865, when the Dalziels were, as they say, "arranging subjects for illustration" (p. 248). Like Simeon Solomon, Poynter had been chosen because the engravers had taken a great fancy to one of his works, a watercolour drawing of Egyptian water carriers, which they bought and engraved to include in their Bible.

George Frederick Watts, Frederick Sandys and other artists are recorded by the Dalziels as having promised subjects but contributing only one design in the end. The letter from Edward Burne-Jones they print shows an eagerness similar to that of Solomon: "In a few days you will have the "Ezekiel", and soon after "The Coming of the Dove to the Ark"(...) Your commission still delights me with its congenial nature (...) As soon as I have made a scheme of the "Carol" you shall have it, and consider about it. Do you think of having a "Temptation of Adam and Eve"? It would be famous for engraving, with a horny snake all around the tree, and the naked figuress could be sufficiently concealed in the thicket so as not to offend the prurient (for they ought not to offend the modest). I shall thoroughly enjoy all this work (...)" (p. 255-256).

Despite all this enthusiasm, the results were meagre. The more remarkable is Solomon's contribution of twenty finished designs. Six of these were used in the edition of 1881: "Hosannah!", "The Mother of Moses", "Ruth, Naomi and the Child Obed", which have already been discussed, and "Hagar and Ishmael", "Abraham and Isaac" and "Melchisedek blessing Abraham".

The Dalziels: the process of engraving and original works of art

For "Hagar and Ishmael" the original design has been preserved: a drawing in wash, dated 20-5-63 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London). Just like "Isaac and Rebecca", cut by the Dalziels in 1862, the composition has not been reversed in the engraving, in contrast to all future designs by Solomon.This means that somehow the Dalziels wanted to spare the originals and were beginning to use new techniques.

Apart from Dante Gabriel Rossetti, artists did not mind that the composition was reversed in the process of printing, and with the exception of Millais in his Parables designs, they did not care for the correct rendering of details apart from their signature (15). According to Burne-Jones, speaking of the Moxon-Tennyson (1857) for which the Dalziels cut many of the Pre-Raphaelite designs, Rossetti used a mirror to reverse his own original pen and ink onto the woodblock, thus preserving the original and avoiding the inevitable reversal of the composition. This, however, is an exception. Some engravers used pupils to transfer the original onto the block, whereby much of the quality was lost. The Dalziels did not. They were famous for retaining the fine lines and the black and white nuances of the works, as can be seen when the originals are compared to the engravings.

How, then, did the Dalziels proceed?

It was fairly common that artists worked straight on the woodblock, and consequently, no originals exist and the problem of reversal is avoided. In 1851, Rossetti and William Holman Hunt were invited to contribute designs to an edition of Longfellow's poems (never published). Rossetti illustrated the poem "Nuremberg", showing the famous woodcut artist Albrecht Durer at an easel. He made this drawing on a block, using pencil, sepia, black ink and brush. Since the block has never been cut, it still exists. Another uncut woodblock with an unknown subject from a slightly later period also survives (16). Hunt had photographs of the original drawings for the Moxon Tennyson made, before they were lost on the block, in order to compare these photographs with the artists' proofs (16b). Millais, too, produced his drawings straight on the wood in reverse, on a surface prepared with Chinese white. Four of those blocks for the Parables are still in existence, which means that the Dalziels did not cut them (17). Burne-Jones gave the Dalziels watercolours of the Seven Days and also made a "few drawings on the wood" for the Bible, of which "Noah entering the Ark" and "The Return of the Dove to the Ark" remained uncut (18).

Around 1863, the engravers probably used photography or photographic chemicals to transfer the drawing to a block or even from one block to another for cutting, thus saving the precious originals (17b). They may have followed the same procedure with originals watercolours or wash drawings, such as Solomon's "Isaac and Rebecca" and "Hagar and Ishmael". Perhaps with this technique the also solved the problem of reversal. In 1989, two of Solomon's uncut woodblocks turned up and were offered for sale: "The Feast of the Tabernacles" and "Offering the first fruits of harvest". These blocks, containing the original pen and ink drawings with some heightening in white, are signed by Solomon in red on the back and also by Edward Dalziel. This is a further evidence that the Dalziels transferred the drawing to another block (the subject has been engraved) and treasured the first block as a precious work of art (19).

Opportunities for the artist: sale of watercolours

The Dalziel Brothers were more than just engravers and publishers, they were also collectors. They not only kept woodblocks with original designs, but they also commissioned watercolour replicas from the artists. In their 1901- publication, they write that many of the original drawings have found their way into the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum (p. 256).

The letter from Solomon to Edward Dalziel from 1862 suggests the start of a pleasing relationship. Simeon's brother Abraham, a respectable painter, seems to have established the first contact. They may have referred them to two illustrations by Simeon for an article on Jewish customs in the magazine "Once a Week" (vol. VII, p. 192-193): "The Marriage Ceremony" and "Lighting the Lamps: Eve of the Sabbath" (20). In inviting the Dalziels to his studio to see the "Shadrach" watercolour, Solomon of course hoped to obtain further commissions and to sell some of his works. He must have been thinking about his friend Burne-Jones. Holman Hunt had praised this artist exceedingly in the autumn of 1861 (Brothers Dalziel 1901, p. 162-166) and therefore, they visited his studio. Immediately, they bought a watercolour ("The Annunciation") and they commissioned a triptych ("The Birth of Christ") (21).

When they visited Solomon, they may have acquired the drawing "And David took an harp" which is dated "62" and, being close to the Jewish musician in "Hosannah!", must have appealed to their taste. They engraved it for inclusion in their Bible.

Speaking about the two Academy paintings, Solomon will have mentioned his first exhibit in 1858: "Isaac Offered" (no 1066). In 1863, he made a watercolour, which was published (in reverse) in the Bible Gallery as "Abraham and Isaac" (22). Its sequel, "Isaac and Rebecca", had already been engraved by the Dalziels in 1862. Perhaps the original was lost, because Solomon produced a new watercolour version, dated "4-1-63" (Victoria and Albert Museum, London). Here, the position of the two figures corresponds to that of the engraving, serving as the model for the work of art (and not the other way around). Some slight alterations, for example, the large ear-ring of the woman and the disappearance of the jug between the two lovers, intensify the dramatic character of this scene. The date suggests that it was made for the Dalziels or at least stimulated by their visit and interest.

Having finished this watercolour version, Solomon also started to paint the same composition in oil on canvas, which he completed only three months later. This canvas, his first attempt to paint on a truly grand scale, was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in the same year (no 567) and received praise in the art columns of the Athenaeum (16 May 1863) and Times (21 May 1863) (23).

The habit of painting a watercolour version after an engraving was not uncommon. It fits into the commercial thinking of the period, where dealers were selling prints after famous paintings. In this case, the artist himself took control. The Dalziels themselves recall that they had asked Burne-Jones to paint watercolour version from the engravings they did for "Good Words": "King Sigurd the Volsung" and "Summer Snow" (24).

Having realized that his original drawings for the Moxon-Tennyson- eight of his eighteen contributions being cut by the Dalziels- had been lost during this process, Millais produced watercolours after most of his designs for the Parables, to sell them separately (25). He also painted a watercolour, "The Payer of the Thirty at St. Cado" in 1862, after his own illustration to an anonymous translation of a Breton ballad in "Once a Week" ("The Ballad of the Thirty", vol.VI, 1862, p. 155) (26). Edward Poynter painted a watercolour after his contribution to the Bible, "Joseph presents his Father to Pharaoh", at the request of the Dalziels (Brothers Dalziel 1901, p.246).

Ford Madox Brown, the Pre-Raphaelite godfather who had been invited to submit three illustrations in November 1863, began his first design "Elijah and the Widow's Son", in pen and ink in January 1864 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London). He sent it to the Dalziels in March of this year, with the message that he needed photographs to show to potential buyers of the pictures he intended to paint after this design. Already in February 1864, he had begun a watercolour version for H. Virtue Tebbs (according to his Account Book, which survives in a copy by Ford Madox Hueffer in the family). Tebbs, however, gave up the commission and Brown sold the work to the dealer Ernest Gambart on 4 November 1864. He had wanted to complete it for J. H. Trist of Brighton, who preferred an oil, which Brown did in July 1864. This oil (City Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham) was shown at his one man exhibition in 1864 with a description (27). A second watercolour was made in 1868 (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) and there may exist more replicas. His second illustration, "Jacob and Joseph's Coat", done in pen and ink in September and October 1864, was promptly translated into oil on canvas (28). Again, Brown asked for a photograph, which he knew the Dalziels had made to use in their working process. In a letter dated 23 November 1864, he thanks them for the photograph "of the Jakob drawing"and continues: "As I suppose you will photograph it on wood, I beg you to observe that the arm & hand of Benjamin come to light in the photo." He complains about the photograph of Elijah: "It almost looks as though the photographer employed some trick to focus the light on what he considers the principle parts of the work."Brown concludes with saying that he is working on his third design wherein the light is graduated so that the photographer "may exercise his toning facilities with less detriment to the work"(28b)

From these examples, it is obvious that the artist involved used the design for the Bible Gallery in many other ways, thus taking profit from the commission.

Opportunities for the artist: experimenting towards a new style

The commissions for the Bible Gallery provided the young artist not only with an opportunity to sell and exhibit watercolours or oil versions, but also offered them a chance to experiment with their own style. Solomon's contributions illustrate a typical Jewish custom or a dramatic moment with two persons involved.

The Dalziel woodcut "Ruth and Naomi" is based on a beautiful watercolour by Solomon dated 1862, which may be compared, in style and execution, to "Isaac and Rebecca" and "Abraham driving out Hagar and Ishmael" from the same period (29). The watercolour is part of a pair, the other being "Ruth and Boaz", showing the young woman kneeling, carefully held by the rich Boaz who will become the father of Obed. This scene, however, has not been engraved by the Dalziels, probably because they preferred the composition of "Ruth, Naomi and the Child Obed" instead and considered three prints fro The "Ruth and Naomi" which was executed but not included in the Bible Gallery, is particularly interesting because it clearly shows the influence of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. This watercolour is very close to Rossetti's watercolour "The Salutation of Beatrice in Eden", completed in 1854 for G. P. Boyce (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) (30). Perhaps Solomon saw this work at one of his occasional visits to Boyce. He may also have studied another watercolour by Rossetti, "Ruth and Boaz", dating from 1855, at William Burges's (31). Although Rossetti's influence may not immediately have led solomon to "explore the nature of male sensuality and forbidden themes of a homosocial and 'decadent'nature", as Susan Casteras puts it, Rossetti surely enabled him to combine themes, rituals and symbols with a highly personal mood and meaning (31b)

"Abraham's Sacrifice" was a very attractive theme for the strictly educated Jewish boy. The Dalziel engraving reveals the stylistic influence of Rossetti and Burne-Jones, in the head of the angel and the thick bushes with the captive animal. The elaborate composition also refers to the phase of Solomon's art when the Pre-Raphaelite influence and the search for an independent style paralleled his technical skills, i.e. around 1863.

"Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other", an allegorical representation of two women embracing, presumably also dates from 1863. It is interesting to find the same theme in the watercolour "Sappho and Erinna in the garden, Mytilene" from 1863 (Tate Gallery, London) (32). Here, the two embracing ladies are sitting, but they closely resemble the allegorical virtues. The theme of Lesbian love and the overtly Hellenic atmosphere, stressed by the signature with two capital Greek sigma's indicates the growing interest in this decadent classical world and his enthusiasm for new themes, certainly not to the liking of the Dalziels.

In 1866 Solomon based his Royal Academy picture of that year, "Damon and Aglae", a private interpretation of classical mythology which led his friend Algernon Charles Swinburne to compose the poem "Erotion", on his earlier "Isaac and Rebecca". On account of his increasing interest for Hellenic style and themes, it seems reasonable to assume that the Dalziel woodcuts all originated in the years 1863-1864 (33).

They are pivotal in Solomon's oeuvre. They are related to his Biblical drawings in a very original style, such as " A Musical Procession", dated 6-60; "The Anguish of Miriam", dated 6-10-60; "The Aged King David ministered by Abishag", 1859 (City Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham); "David dancing before the Ark", 1860; "David with his Harp", 1862; and paintings like "The Young Jeremiah", dated 12-61, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1862 (no 665) and "Judith going to the Camp of the Assyrians" from 1863 (Newcastle upon Tyne), exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1872 (no 665) (34).They clearly show how Solomon adapted the Pre-Raphaelite (especially Rossettian) style of narrow space, theatre-like narratives and private religious icons, plus rich and elaborate exotic objects into his own background (34b).The 'scenes' become more and more subjective images with a private mythology instead of a biblical or historical reading (34c).

They breathe the first scent of a private, pre-Symbolist iconography, developing around 1865. Solomon visited Rome and became friends with classicists like Walter Pater and Oscar Browning. At home in their company, he composed his prose allegory "A Vision of Love Revealed in Sleep", published in 1871, and started to paint his own dream-personifications. By then, the Dalziels had lost their interest in his themes and style. Without their commissions in 1863-1864, however, Solomon would have found it more difficult to emerge as an artist..

Illustrations

1. The Infant Moses, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

2. Hosannah!, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

3. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

4. Ruth, Naomi and the Child Obed, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

5. Ruth, Naomi and the Child Obed, 19-9-60, pen and ink, 11,5 x 8 7/8 , City Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham

6. Ruth, Naomi and the Child Obed, 29-6-61, watercolour, 9 x 7,5 (photo Sotheby' s)

7. The Finding of Moses, Hugh Lane Municipial Art Gallery, Dublin

8. Melchisedek blesses Abraham, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

9. Hagar and Ishmael, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

10. And David took an Harp, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

11. Abraham and Isaac, 1863, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

12. Isaac and Rebecca, 1863, watercolour, 11 9/16 x 8, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

13. Ruth and Naomi, 1862, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

14. Ruth and Naomi, watercolour, 9,5 x 7 (photo Sotheby's)

15. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Meeting of Dante and Beatrice in Paradise, 1853-1854, watercolour, 1x 9 7/8, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

16. Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other, Dalziel's Bible Gallery

 Notes

1. Cf. Isobel Spencer, Walter Crane, London 1975, p. 26.

2. Jeremy Maas, Gambart. Prince of the Victorian Art World, London 1975, p. 28-32 and idem, The Victorian Art World in Photographs,London 1984. Cf. George and Edward Dalziel, The Brothers Dalziel. A Record of fifty Years' Work, London 1901, reprinted 1978 (foreword by Graham Reynolds); Forest Reid, Illustrators of the Sixties,London 1928 (reprinted as Illustrators of the Eighteen Sixties, New York 1975); G. Ray, The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914,New York, Pierpont Morgan Library 1976; William E. Fredeman, Pre-Raphaelitism. A Bibliocritical Study, Cambridge Mass. 1965, p.282, 302 and T. R. S. Boase,"Biblical Illustration in nineteenth century English Art", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 29(1966), p. 363.

3. Algernon Graves, The Royal Academy of Arts. A complete dictionary of contributors and their work from its foundation in 1796 to 1904, London 1905-1906, vol. VII, p. 208.

Cf. the inscription verso on the watercolour In the Temple of Venusdated 23-4-63: "made by Simeon Solomon at his room, 22 Charles Street, Middlesex Hospital April 1863" (private collection; photograph in the Witt Library, London).

4. Reproduced in colour in Christopher Wood, The Pre-Raphaelites, London 1981, p. 130.

5. In 1906, the owners were W. G. Rawlinson (The Mother of Moses) and Mrs. Ch. Bayley (Hosannah!) according to Algernon Graves, A Century Of Loan Exhibitions. 1813-1912, London 1914, vol. IV,p. 2182.

6. Young Musician in the Temple is reproduced in Simon Reynolds, The Vision of Simeon Solomon, Stroud 1984, pl. 21. For Burne-Jones's watercolours, see John Christian, "Burne-Jones Studies. II. Sources for Burne-Jones's Von Bork designs", Burlington Magazine CXV (1973), p. 104, note 16. The Blessed Damozel is reproduced in Martin Harrison and Bill Waters, Burne-Jones, London 1973, fig. 45.

7. Georgiana Burne-Jones, Memorials of Sir Edward Burne-Jones,London 1904, vol. I, p. 259. For Plint, see Brian Lewis, "Thomas E. Plint. A Patron of Pre-Raphaelite Painting", Pre-Raphaelite Review 3 (1980), no 2, p. 83.

8. A proof of Hosannah!is in the Tate Gallery, London (no 4013), reproduced in Reynolds 1984, pl. 35.

Cf. Burne-Jones's The Parable of the Burning Pot, based on a drawing from 1861 and engraved after a new drawing made by the artist in 1863.

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London possesses a drawing with the caption Study for an illustration to Psalm LX, dating from 1864 (E 1368-L 10) that is very similar to Hosannah!, showing a musician in full-length. This drawing, however, seems to be independent from the Dalziel engraving, which is based on 1 Chron. XXV, 1-7 or 2. Chron. VIII, 14.

9. Reproduced in Bernard Falk, Five Years Dead, London 1937, facing p. 382 (as The Finding of Moses) and Reynolds 1984, pl. 18. Cf. William Thackeray, "Thorns in the cushion", Cornhill Magazine July 1860, reprinted in Roundabout Papers, London 1869, p. 47-48. A drawing entitled The Mother of Moses about to leave her child in the bulrushes in the Victoria and Albert Museum (E 1298-1948) bears the inscription: "First sketch for the picture of the Mother & Sister of Moses with working notes". Here, the scene is situated outdoors, the stiff and elongated figures being in the style of Solomon's drawings of 1857.

10. A proof of Isaac and Rebekah is at the Victoria and Albert Museum together with proofs of the six designs by Solomon published in the Bible Gallery in 1881.

11. Birmingham version reproduced in Reynolds 1984, pl. 19; watercolour reproduced in Graham Reynolds, Victorian Painting, London 1988, pl. 58.

11. The Finding of Moses is reproduced in the exhibition catalogue Solomon. A Family of Painters,London/Birmingham 1985-86, no 44. It was exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy in 1906. A small sketch of this subject is on a page (now at the Jewish Museum, London) from a sketchbook (now at the Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Israel), dating from 1855-1857.

12. Reproduced in Jeremy Maas, Victorian Painters, London 1969, p. 143 (now collection Barry Friedman, New York).

13. Keith Andrews, The Nazarenes. A Brotherhood of German Painters in Rome, Oxford 1964, p. 75-85; William Vaughan, German Romanticism and English Art, London/New Haven 1979, p. 155-170.

15. Mary Lutyens, "Introduction", in: John Everett Millais, The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, London 1864, reprinted New York 1975, p. xiv.

16. Mary Lago (ed.), Burne-Jones Talking, London 1982, p. 78 (Burne-Jones to his studio assistant T. M. Rooke, January 7, 1896).

The Rossetti drawings on wood are reproduced and catalogued in "A Rossetti Cabinet: A Portfolio of Drawings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti", Journal of Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic Studies II (no 2), 1989 (Special issue 1991), ed. by William E. Fredeman, pl. 71b and 71a. For the Dürer image, cf. two pen and ink drawings from the collection of Ford Madox Brown, Fra Angelico Painting and Giorgione Painting: Virginia Surtees, The Paintings and Drawings of Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828-1882, A Catalogue Raisonné, Oxford 1971, no 694, pl. 482 and no 695, pl. 483, dated c. 1853.

16b. Rodney Engen, Pre-Raphaelite Prints, London 1995, p. 100.

17. Lutyens 1975, p. xii; Jennifer M. Ullman, "The 'Perfect Delineation of Character': Process and Perfection in the book illustrations of John Everett Millais", in: Susan P. Casteras, Pocket Cathedrals. Pre-Raphaelite Book Illustration, New Haven 1991, p. 55; cf. R. Engen 1995, p. 104.

17b. Ullman 1991, p. 56.

18. Christian 1975, no's 256-258. Cf. Brothers Dalziel, p.164. For one of the watercolours, see Harrison-Waters 1973, fig. 82.

19. The Pre-Raphaelites and Associates, Ian Hodgkins & Co Ltd., Slad, Stroud, cat. no 45, no 598 and no 599.

20. In 1866, ten illustrations for Jewish Customs appeared in Leisure Hour: Ray 1976, p. 114; Reid 1975, p. 102-105 and Solomon. A Family of Painters, p. 10-11, 71 (reproduced).

21. Reproduced in Harrison-Waters 1973, pl. 10 (The Annunciation), and figs. 83-85 (Triptych, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford); cf. John Christian, The Pre-Raphaelites in Oxford, Ashmolean Museum Oxford 1974, p. 40-41.

22. Now in the possession of Esther Salaman-Hamburger, reproduced in the exhibition catalogue Solomon. A Family of Painters1985, no 39, p. 66 (dated c. 1858).

23. Reproduced in Apollo83(1966), p. 478, fig. 3.

24. Brothers Dalziel, p.164. The Summer Snow watercolour is in the William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow. See John Christian, 1975, no 251 and no 252.

25. Lutyens 1975, p. xii.

26. Important British Paintings and Drawings, Sotheby's Belgravia November 10, 1981, lot 23.

27. The watercolour is reproduced in Christopher Newall, Victorian Watercolours, London 1987, pl. 22. For the oil, see The Pre-Raphaelites, Tate Gallery, London 1984, no 127. Cf. Ford Madox Hueffer, Ford Madox Brown. A Record of his Life and Work, London 1896, p. 197, 201-202; Maas 1975, p. 167-168.

28. The Pre-Raphaelites 1984, no 129. Cf. Brothers Dalziel, p. 252-253.

28b. Letter from F. M. Brown to the Dalziel Brothers, 23 November 1864, book catalogue Ian Hodgkins & Co Ltd, no .., item 17.

29. Sotheby's Parke Bernet, London June 23, 1981.

30. Surtees 1971, no 116D, pl. 174; reproduced in colour in Alastair Grieve, The Art of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. III. The Watercolours and Drawings of 1850-1855, Norwich 1978, p. 8. For Rossetti and Solomon, see Steven Kolsteren, "Simeon Solomon and Dante Gabriel Rossetti", Journal of Pre-Raphaelite Studies 2 (1982), no 2, p. 35-49.

31b Susan P. Casteras, "Introduction", in: Susan P. Casteras, Pocket Cathedrals, Pre-Raphaelite Book Illustration, New Haven 1991, p. 36-37.

31. Ruth and Boaz reproduced in Surtees 1971, pl. 177, no 70. Cf. George Price Boyce in his diary, February 12, 1858: "Little Simeon Solomon called and stayed a long while(...) Burges came up and I introduced him." and on April 30, 1859: " Found Simeon Solomon and Poynter in Burges' room.@: in: A.Street, George Price Boyce with extracts from G.P.Boyce's Diaries, 1852-1878, The Old Water Colour Society's 19th Annual Volume, London 1941, reprinted as The Diaries of George Price Boyce, ed. by Virginia Surtees, Norwich 1980, p. 28, p. 31. Several of Solomon's designs are close to Rossetti's pen and ink drawings, cf. Joseph Accused before Potiphar, 1860, City Museums and Art Gallery, Birmingham, reproduced in Surtees 1971, pl. 194, no 122.

32. Reproduced in Wood 1981, p. 131. A drawing in the possession of Barry Friedman Ltd., New York shows Sappho sitting apart, watching Erinna and a man on the same bench- it is clearly related to the watercolour.

33. The 69 Dalziel woodcuts for the Bible Gallery, together with 28 unpublished ones, were reprinted in Art Pictures from the Old Testament, published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1894, with texts by Aley Fox. Fourteen of the unpublished ones were after designs by Solomon.

The complete list of Solomon's designs reads: Melchisedek blesses Abram (Gen. XIV, 18-20); Abraham and the three Angels (Gen. XVIII, 1-16); Hagar and Ishmael (Gen. XXI, 14); Abraham and Isaac (Gen. XXII, 6-8); Abraham's Sacrifice (Gen. XXII, 9-13); The Infant Moses (Ex. II, 3); The Passover (Ex. XII, 3-10); The first offering of Aaron (Lev. IX); The burnt offering (Lev. VI, 8-13); Offering Incense (EX. XXX, 7); Offering the first fruits of the harvest (Ex. XXII, 29) ;"He shall order the lamps" (Lev. XXIV,1-4); "Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other" (Ps. LXXXV, 10); The Feast of the Tabernacles (Lev. XXIII, 33-43); Ruth and Naomi (Ruth I, 16); Naomi and the Child Obed (Ruth IV,14-17); "And David took an harp"(1 Sam. XVI, 23); Hosannah! (1 Chron. XXV, 1-7; 2 Chron. VIII, 14); Jewish women burning incense. Jeremiah (Jer. XLIV, 15-30) and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Dan. III, 25). Apart from the ones mentioned, two more designs bear dates: Jewish Women burning incense (63) and The First Offering of Aaron (9-64).

34. A Musical Procession reproduced in Reynolds 1985, pl. 17; The Anguish of Miriam reproduced in Richard Ormond, "Holman Hunt's Egyptian Chairs", Apollo 82 (1965), p. 59; The Aged King David, reproduced in Lionel Lambourne, "Abraham Solomon, painter of fashion and Simeon Solomon, decadent artist", Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England 21 (1968), fig. 10; Young Jeremiah reproduced in Reynolds 1985, pl. 23; Judith going to the camp of the Assyrians reproduced in Burne-Jones et l'influence des Preraphaelites, Paris 1972, p. 27, no 5. A photograph of David with his Harp is in the Witt Library, London.

34b. Jeffrey Laird Collins, "Prototype, Posing , and Preference in the Illustrations of Frederick Sandys and Simeon Solomon", in: Susan P. Casteras, Pocket Cathedrals. Pre-Raphaelite book illustration, New Haven 1991, p. 85-86.

34c. Collins 1991, p. 87-88.