Briton Riviere

Briton Riviere, R.A. (1840-1920) Old playfellows signed with monogram and dated '1883' (lower right) and further signed, inscribed and dated 'Old Playfellows/Briton Riviere/82 Finchley Road/N.W./April 1883' (on an old label attached to the reverse) oil on canvas 52 x 61 ¾ in. (132.1 x 156.9 cm.) Old Playfellows was painted at the height of Briton Riviere's career and was chosen by the artist to be exhibited at the Manchester Jubilee Exhibition of 1887; he also showed four other works, but it was judged by the critic of the Art Journal to be 'the best'. The painting is representative of the work of Riviere who was at his most impressive when painting animals. His love and knowledge of the subject was based on anatomical study and frequent visits to London Zoo. His paintings of dogs are often humourous and of a sentimental nature. Old Playfellows recalls the work of Riviere's predecessor Sir Edwin Landseer, who was an important influence on him. It is reminiscent of Landseer's famous picture The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner (1837, Victoria and Albert Museum) which portrays a poignant scene of canine devotion. The work was highly praised by John Ruskin, who described it as 'one of the most perfect poems or pictures ... which modern times have seen.' Ruskin showed similar enthusiasm for Briton Riviere's work Sympathy (1877, Royal Holloway College) which, like Playfellows, depicts a young girl with her dog: he wrote: 'it is long since I have been so pleased in the Royal Academy as I was by Mr Briton Rivere's Sympathy. The dog is uncaricatured doggedness, divine as Anubis, or the Dog Star; the child entirely childish and lovely ...' Sympathy, which hung alongside our picture at the Manchester Jubilee Exhibition, proved to be extremely popular with the general public and was engraved by Frederick Stackpoole and published by Agnew's. The sentimental subject was a formula that Briton Riviere often repeated and both works demonstrate his ability to capture the touching aspects of canine and human nature, successfully transmitting the feelings of animals to canvas without succumbing to the trap of giving them human expressions. It was works such as these that led the Spectator to describe Riviere as 'the only animal painter in England who has taken the place that was vacated by the death of Landseer.'

Briton Riviere (1840-1920) Charity signed and dated 'Briton Riviere/1870' (lower right) and further signed, inscribed and dated 'No. 1/ Charity/ Briton Riviere/ Layham Cottage/ Bromley Common/ Kent/ March 1870' (on a label attached to the stretcher) oil on canvas 29 x 39 ¼ in. (73.7 x 99.7 cm.)

Lot Description

Briton Riviere, R.A. (1840-1920)

A Cavatina

dated '1888' (centre right) and signed and inscribed 'A Cavatina/Briton Riviere RA/82 Finchley Road/NW' (on a label attached to the stretcher)

oil on canvas

43 ½ x 33 ½ in. (110.5 x 85 cm.)

Provenance

By descent in the family of the artist to the present owner.

Literature

Academy Notes, London, 1888, p. 7.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1888, no. 281.

Surrey, Egham, Royal Holloway, University of London, on loan.

View Lot Notes >

Briton Riviere (1840-1920)
The Glove
signed with monogram and dated '1913' (lower right) and further signed and inscribed 'The glove/Briton Riviere/82 Finchley Road N.W.' (on a label attached to the stretcher)
oil on canvas
42 ½ x 32 5/8 in. (108 x 83.2 cm.)
Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, 1913, no. 201.

Briton Riviere, RA (British, 1840-1920)

The most devoted of her slaves

signed with mongram and dated '1894' (lower left)

oil on canvas

81.3 x 50.8cm (32 x 20in).

Footnotes

Provenance

Sale, Christie's South Kensington, 7 November 2007, lot 310.

Private collection, UK.

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, 1894, no. 608.