Catalogue entry
P07806 Lovers 1982
Lithograph 5 3/8 × 4 1/2 (136 × 115) on paper 15 × 11 3/8 (382 × 290) watermarked ‘Somerset England’, printed by Nick Hunter and published by Garton & Cooke
Inscribed ‘W.H. Holland’ b.r. and ‘6/30’
Purchased from Robin Garton (Grant-in-Aid) 1983
The following entry is based on information supplied by the artist in a letter dated 21 April 1986. It has been approved by the artist.
Holland has explained that ‘The image originally derives from a subject which I reworked called “Roman Charity” a fairly common theme in the nineteenth century.’ ‘Roman Charity’ refers to the story of Cimon and Pero which was extensively interpreted by artists of the 16th to 18th centuries, most notably by Rubens and Caravaggio. It appears to derive originally from Valerius Maximus who, in his Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libriIX, under the heading ‘De pietate in parentes’ (5:4) tells how the aged Cimon, a prisoner awaiting execution and therefore being starved, was visited in his cell by Pero, his daughter, who nourished him by offering him her breast… (read more)
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