St Theophilus and the Angel - Composition Sketch / Tannhauser - Composition Sketch ?1863 Accession number: 1927P510 Pencil on cream-toned paper. Width: 245 mm Height: 168 mm InformationOne of a number of compositional studies in Birmingham's collection for the watercolour entitled 'Theophilus and the Angel'. Two versions of the painting were made, one was destroyed in the second world war (1863), the other (c.1866) was sold at Sotheby's in 2008.The design differs considerably from that finally adopted for the 1863 watercolour. On the left, Theophilus stands on the first three steps, instead of on the topmost step. The temple of Venus is in the background at centre, whereas in the finished watercolour it is on the right. The body of St. Dorothea and her mourners are placed more to the left than in the watercolour, and the background figures in the latter appear to be omitted.The verso is a pencil sketch labelled 'Tannhauser'. Based on the composition, this may be an early rendering of 'Laus Veneris', with Tannhauser in the Venusburg before the goddess herself. It appears that the figure at left is the goddess in her garden palace, with the knight Tannhauser walking down steps into the courtyard to meet her. If this is the subject of the sketch, it differs dramatically in both theme and composition from the 1873-78 oil painting 'Laus Veneris', in the collection of the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle.
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