John Simmons (British, 1823-1876) There sleeps Titania, 1872 Oil on canvas 25 x 30 inches (63.5 x...
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Description
John Simmons (British, 1823-1876)There sleeps Titania, 1872
Oil on canvas
25 x 30 inches (63.5 x 76.2 cm)
Signed and dated lower left: J. Simmons / 1872
PROVENANCE:
The Maas Gallery, Ltd., London;
Private collection, Glen Head, New York.
Although John Simmons devoted much of his career to portraiture, during the 1860s and early 1870s he turned his attention to a sequence of works inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (J. Martineau, ed., Victorian Fairy Painting, exh. cat., London, 1997, p. 125). Shakespeare's fantastical comedy of enchantment, mistaken love, and woodland spirits was among the most frequently performed plays on nineteenth-century English stages, and it provided a rich source for artists such as Robert Huskisson, John George Naish, Noel Paton, and Richard Dadd. Each painter found in its magical setting an opportunity to explore elaborate visions of the fairy world. Yet Simmons distinguished himself from his contemporaries through his striking combination of realist precision and imaginative invention.
At the center of the theatrically spotlit scene lies Titania, the iconic Fairy Queen, nestled in a bower of honeysuckle and roses. Her battle over the charge of a changeling boy with her husband Fairy King Oberon (seen in the upper right background, his crown glinting in the moonlight), threatens the balance of nature and sets off the series of confusions and comic romances in the play. Indeed, Simmons seems to illustrate a moment in Midsummer's pivotal Act II, Scene II where, after Titania has been sung to sleep by her fairy court, Oberon seizes the opportunity to punish her for challenging his authority. He drugs her by squeezing the juice of a magical flower called "love-in-idleness" (as it had been struck by Cupid's arrow) onto her eyelids. When she awakes, Titania comically falls in love with the first creature she sees: Bottom, the weaver, whose head has been transformed into that of a donkey by the prankster Puck, seen here behind Oberon, impishly awaiting the awakening. With his characteristic eye for detail, Simmons uses a pop of bright pigment to draw the eye to the offending bud held in Oberon's hand.
Within his oeuvre, Simmons frequently turns to interpretations of Titania as a "paragon of Victorian maidenhood," and, at the same time, as an exotic Shakespearean fairy whose unabashed nudity skirted the borders of contemporary censure (J. Maas, "Victorian Fairy Paintings," p. 21; C. Gere, "In Fairyland," pp. 63, 38 in Martineau, ed., Fairy Painting, exh. cat., London, 1997). In addition to the Queen, Simmons conjures her court of sleeping fairies, their gossamer butterfly wings and shimmering skin absorbing and reflecting the magical moonlight, set within a sensual world of lush, loamy moss and vibrant flowers, mysteriously in full bloom at night. Simmons carries the viewer's eye from foreground to the shadowy depths of the forest where miniature fairies dance around a tree and Oberon and Puck lurk in the shadows. This meticulous attention to anatomical and textural detail reflects Simmons' early training as a miniature painter, a craft that demanded acute observational skill. The painting's minute precision invites close study—almost as if the viewer were peering through a microscope to examine the delicate physiognomies and botanicals of these otherworldly beings and their environment—both familiar and foreign to the viewer's own. This would have resonated deeply with a Victorian audience fascinated by both science and the supernatural. Many contemporaries regarded fairies as real creatures existing at the border of science, and "fairy-hunts" or amateur "field studies" were not uncommon.
As the lovers sleep, the viewer too is drawn into Simmons' vision of nocturnal wonder. While the artist worked in watercolor for most of his career, this rare oil illustrates his mastery over the medium. Like his watercolor technique, in the present work, soft layers of shifting tones of color create an almost transparent luminosity to Titania's skin and the gossamer, organic canopy under which she sleeps. More heavily applied, saturated greens and blues build up the nocturnal world, illuminated by the artist's brilliant ability to capture light and shadow, creating an atmosphere that shimmers between reality and dream. The forest dissolves into mist and moonlight, while every floral bud and fairy retains corporeality. Blending the earthly and the ethereal, Simmons fashions a theatrical escape from ordinary experience, a scene that is at once romantic, sensual, and contemplative.
Estimate: $20,000 - $30,000.
Condition Report*:
Lined canvas. Mild frame abrasion at edges. Very slight yellowing to the varnish layer. Finely patterned craquelure. A few scattered pinpoint losses, apparently stabilized beneath the varnish layer. A few additional small dots of slightly discolored accretion. Not examined out of frame.
Under UV: varnish fluoresces green unevenly and appears to have been removed in some areas. Brushy retouching at edges. Some scattered more finely applied retouching to the rightmost fairy at lower edge, and to the lower body of Oberon in the upper right quadrant. Some retouching to Titania's thighs, forearms, and the her bottom right wing. A few additional dots and dashes of finely applied retouching scattered throughout, including possibly strengthening to some white and pink pigments.
Framed Dimensions 32.5 X 37.5 X 2.25 Inches
*Heritage Auctions strives to provide as much information as possible but encourages in-person inspection by bidders.
Statements regarding the condition of objects are only for general guidance and should not be relied upon as complete statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation,
warranty or assumption of liability by Heritage. Some condition issues may not be noted in the condition report but are apparent in the provided photos which are considered part of the condition report.
Please note that we do not de-frame lots estimated at $1,000 or less and may not be able to provide additional details for lots valued under $500.
Heritage does not guarantee the condition of frames and shall not be liable for any damage/scratches to frames, glass/acrylic coverings, original boxes, display accessories, or art that has slipped in frames.
All lots are sold "AS IS" under the Terms & Conditions of Auction.Under UV: varnish fluoresces green unevenly and appears to have been removed in some areas. Brushy retouching at edges. Some scattered more finely applied retouching to the rightmost fairy at lower edge, and to the lower body of Oberon in the upper right quadrant. Some retouching to Titania's thighs, forearms, and the her bottom right wing. A few additional dots and dashes of finely applied retouching scattered throughout, including possibly strengthening to some white and pink pigments.
Framed Dimensions 32.5 X 37.5 X 2.25 Inches
Auction Info
2025 November 18 Fine European Art Signature® Auction #8223 (go to Auction Home page)
Bidding Begins Approx.
October
28th
Tuesday
Auction Dates
November
18th
Tuesday
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6 Days
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Signature®: Heritage Live®:After Internet bidding closes, live bidding will take place through www.HA.com/Live. Your secret maximum bid placed prior to the live event will compete against the live bids. To maximize your chances of winning, enter realistic secret maximum bids on our site. Many of our proxy bidders are successful at winning lots in these auctions, and usually below their secret maximum. You can also place last minute bids directly with us by e-mailing Bid@HA.com or calling 1-866-835-3243. (Important note: Due to software and Internet latency, live bids may not register in time, so enter realistic proxy bids.)
Signature® Floor Sessions
Proxy bidding ends ten minutes prior to the session start time. Live Proxy bidding on Heritage Live now starts within 2 hours of when the auction opens for proxy bidding and continues through the live session. During the live auction event, bidding in person is encouraged, and Heritage Live includes streaming audio and often video during the event.
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