WHYTE'S IRISH & INTERNATIONAL ART 27th September 2021 at 6pm

144 118 St George Hare RI ROI (1857-1933) A MARTYR AND FOUR FEMALE FIGURES IN AN AMPHITHEATRE oil on canvas with faint typed label on frame on reverse; bears “HARE” on canvas on reverse 36 by 26.50in. (91.4 by 67.3cm) Frame Dimensions: 45.5 by 36in. (115.6 by 91.4cm) Excellent condition. Provenance: Whyte’s, 30 May 2011, lot 63; Private collection This biblical scene possibly illustrates the death of St Ignatius of Antioch, also called Theophorus (‘God- bearer’), who died in the time of the Emperor Trajan. A convert from paganism, Ignatius was arrested, condemned to be killed by wild beasts and sent to Rome under military guard for execution in the Colosseum. Testament to the artist’s interested in this subject matter, In 1891 St. George Hare exhibited a work in the Royal Academy entitled, The Victory of Faith, [no. 489]. Graves’, The Royal Academy Index of Arts, A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and their Work, from its Foundation in 1769 to 1904 (Vol. II), p.391 lists the aforementioned painting and includes the following note from Foxe’s Martyrs, “Divers and sundrie torments were the Christians molested with, and the martyrs were in most miserable and pitiful wise handled. Those which were not tormented to death, were everie daie terrified and feared without ceasing. –” €2,000-€3,000 (£1,710-£2,560 approx.) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot118