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The Dying Contrabandista

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Painting by John Phillip
The Dying Contrabandista
ArtistJohn Phillip
Year1858
TypeOil on canvas, genre painting
Dimensions130 cm × 200 cm (52 in × 80 in)
LocationRoyal Collection

The Dying Contrabandista is an 1858 genre painting by the British artist John Phillip. Formerly a member of The Clique artistic group, later in his career Phillip concentrated on scenes of Spanish life and was a favourite painter of Queen Victoria.

The paining portrays a fatally wounded smuggler dying in the arms of his beloved. Other members of the gang stand sentry, looking out of the windows. The theme of a wounded guerrilla had previously been used by David Wilkie in a scene of the Peninsular War. It was displayed the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition of 1858.

It provided inspiration for the 1866 opera The Contrabandista by Arthur Sullivan and F.C. Burnand. The work was acquired by Queen Victoria in 1858 for 650 guineas as a Christmas gift for her husband Prince Albert. Today the painting remains in the Royal Collection.

References

  1. https://www.rct.uk/collection/404562/the-dying-contrabandista
  2. Clarke & Remington p.130
  3. Lawrence p.105
  4. https://www.rct.uk/collection/404562/the-dying-contrabandista

Bibliography

  • Clarke, Deborah & Remington, Vanessa. Scottish Artists 1750-1900: From Caledonia to the Continent. Royal Collection Trust, 2015.
  • Lawrence, Mark. Anglo-Hispania Beyond the Black Legend: British Campaigns, Travellers and Attitudes Towards Spain Since 1489. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2023
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