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• Auction House:
  Gibson's Auctioneers & Valuers
• Sale Name:
  Australian & International Art
• Sale Date:
  18 Apr 2021 ~ 2pm (AEST)
• Lot #:
  23
• Lot Description:
  Rupert Bunny
  (1864-1947)
  St Veronica, c.1899
  oil on canvas
  86 x 111 cm
  signed lower right: Rupert C W Bunny; inscribed verso: St Veronica
  REFERENCES: Forum, Sydney, 23 May 1923; Rupert Bunny Papers, La Trobe Collection, State Library of Victoria, MS7970/35; David Thomas, Rupert Bunny 1864-1947, Lansdowne Press, Melbourne, 1970, p. 40, cat. O78; Terry Ingram, 'As the Gavel Falls', Financial Review, Sydney, 4 August 1988, p. 35 (illustrated); Sydney Morning Herald, 19 November 1988, p. 13; David Thomas, Important Australian Art, Bonhams, May 2012; David Thomas, The Life and Art of Rupert Bunny: A Catalogue Raisonné, Thames & Hudson, Melbourne, 2017, vol.1, p.98, vol. 2, cat. no. O115, p. 25
• Provenance:
  Paul Renard, New Drouot, Paris, 24 June 1988, as Le Voile de Vèronique; Private collection; Thence by descent; Private collection, Perth; Fine Art, McKenzies Auctioneers, Perth, 19 November 2013, lot 40; Private collection, Melbourne
• Exhibited:
  Royal Society of British Artists, London, 1902, cat. 305, as St. Veronica; Exhibition of Paintings by Rupert C. W. Bunny, Fine Art Society's Gallery, Melbourne, 15-27 November 1922, cat. 8, as St. Veronica; An Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Drawings by Rupert C. W. Bunny, Anthony Hordern & Sons Limited, Sydney, 2-31 May 1923, cat. 8, 150 gns
• Notes:
  St Veronica stands out as one of Rupert Bunny's most significant religious paintings. Exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists in London in 1902, it was produced when the artist was receiving considerable recognition for his Christian imagery: in 1901, he was awarded the gold medal at the Victorian Gold Jubilee Exhibition for his painting of the Conversion of Valerian. 1902 also marked the year Bunny made a more permanent move from Paris to London. This period coincided with a subtle shift in Bunny's style - one clearly identifiable in the present picture. He was shedding the lure of French Symbolism and British Aestheticism, which had influenced much of his solemn religious and classic mythological paintings, and was now trying on his reflections on the French Romantics and Venetian Renaissance masters for pictorial inspiration. Set against a dreamy yet turbulent landscape, St Veronica has all the theatrical muscle of Eugène Delacroix's La Liberté guidant le peuple, charged with Paulo Veronese's rich colour schemes and decorative corral of smooth skin, wrinkled rags, heavy wood and hard metal. Despite these obvious academic quotations, the traditional subject matter and the inclusion of the main iconographical elements commonly represented in the episode, a closer look reveals that this picture is also a work that departs from convention. The story goes that Veronica witnessed Jesus carry the cross and offered him her veil as a towel. His face was then miraculously transferred onto the cloth. In other paintings of this scene, this mystical process and the resulting divine relic were made overt and explicit: Veronica (or some chubby cherubs) are usually shown holding up the veil with both hands, often in the direction of Christ's head - the process or product of transference was almost always literally in your face. Bunny, however, in an act of subtle realism, chooses to depict the moments immediately after Veronica's gesture of charity: her veil is back on her head and it is all that stands between her skull and the soldier's imminent blow. By relegating the cloth to its original utilitarian function and marginalising its iconic significance, both symbolically and compositionally (the imprint is only half visible), Bunny adds a natural and realistic twist to the standard iconographical approach. As David Thomas has noted, the artist 'had a creative approach which allowed his work to remain fresh and alive throughout his life'. This painting is an excellent example of how Rupert Bunny gracefully danced between traditional imagery and modern sensibilities. Petrit Abazi
• Estimate:
  A$20,000 - 30,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.