John Melhuish Strudwick, 
British 1849-1937- 
Five figure studies; 
each pencil on paper, two...

John Melhuish Strudwick, 
British 1849-1937- 

Five figure studies; 

each pencil on paper, two sheets with drawings verso, 35.6 x 25.4 cm., 25.6 x 19.9 cm., and 25 x 17.6 cm., three (3), (unframed). 

Provenance: (the first): 
Anon. sale, Bonhams, London, 19 November 2008, lot 1. 

Provenance: (all): 
Private Collection, UK. 

Literature: 
Edward Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné online: https://www.eb-j.org/browse-artists-people-artworks/Mjc=

Note: 
The studies are accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the Burne-Jones Catalogue Raisonné Foundation. 

The first is a study for the central figure of Strudwick's larger composition 'The Gentle Music of a Bygone Day', painted in 1890 and housed in a Private Collection. 

The second is a study for the head of a woman (sixth figure from the right) in the artist’s oil ‘Love's Music, a Triptych’ (1877), which appeared at Sotheby’s, London, 15 July 2008, lot 3. The verso shows a study  for one of the pair of his ‘Angels’, which were exhibited at London's New Gallery, Summer 1896, nos 78 and 82. 

The third sheet featuring a female figure by a tree trunk, with an older figure kneeling below, has been suggested as a possible study for ‘Dante's Vision Of Leah And Rachel’, whilst the nude verso may be a study for Strudwick’s subject of ‘Isabella’, of which at least two versions in oils exist. 

Strudwick worked in the studio of Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) around the years 1872-1875, having previously been a studio assistant to his uncle, Spencer Stanhope (1829-1908). He was closely connected to some of the most significant figures in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, with the influence of Burne-Jones strikingly evident in his approach.