SIMEON SOLOMON (BRITISH 1840-1905) Lot n° 21

HERO AT ABYDOS signed with initials and dated SS / 94 lower left oil on canvas 39.5 x 51cm; 15½ x 20 1/4in 56 x 69cm; 22 x 27 3/4in (framed) Property from a Private Collection, Cumbria Provenance Rachel Simmons (née Solomon), the artist's cousin By descent from the above J S Maas & Co., London Purchased by the present owner in the early 1980s Exhibited London, Geffrye Museum and Birmingham, Museum and Art Gallery, Solomon: A Family of Painters, 1985-86, no. 73 The Greek myth of the passionate love affair between the Priestess Hero and the young Leander from Abydos ends in tragedy when one winter night Leander sees the torch at the top of Hero's tower on the other side of the strait of Hellespont. He attempts to swim the strait to visit her, but halfway across a strong wind blows out Hero's light, and he loses his way and drowns. When Hero sees Leander's dead body she throws herself off the tower to join him in death. Their bodies wash up on shore locked in embrace, and the couple are buried in a lover's tomb.