Portrait of Mrs Edith Holman Hunt (1880)

Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910)

Portrait of Mrs Edith Holman Hunt
1880
Chalk and pastel on paper, 42.8 x 33.8 cm
Tate BritainLondon

Edith Holman Hunt was the artist’s second wife, the sister of his first wife Fanny. It was a union prohibited under British law, and the couple had been forced to marry on the Continent. The drawing is a subtle psychological likeness of Edith and may be seen as an independent portrait. However, the pose is almost identical to that of the Virgin Mary in Hunt’s large painting The Triumph of the Innocents of 18834, and was probably intended as a study for this work. Of all the head studies the artist made in relation to the composition, this drawing approximates most to the head in the finished painting. Tate also has in its collection a second, rather more sketchy, study of the Virgin for the first version of this painting in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Study for the Christ Child in the Virgin’s Arms for ‘The Triumph of the Innocents’ (first version), 1876. (Tate)

Compare:

Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910)
Study for the Christ Child in the Virgin’s Arms
1876
Tate BritainLondon

 

 

Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910)
The Triumph of the Innocents
18761887
Walker Art GalleryLiverpool

 

 

Hunt, William Holman (1827-1910)
The Triumph of the Innocents
18831884
Tate BritainLondon

 

 

See also:

• Hunt, Edith (1846-1931)