Edmund Bristow, British 1787-1876- The Stubborn donkey; oil on canvas, signed and dated 'E Bristow 1829' (lower left), 67 x 82.5 cm. Provenance: With Hahn Fine Art Dealers, London, no.5815.; Anon. sale, Christie's, London, 20 April 1990, lot 5...

Edmund Bristow,

British 1787-1876-

The Stubborn donkey;

oil on canvas, signed and dated 'E Bristow 1829' (lower left), 67 x 82.5 cm.

Provenance: With Hahn Fine Art Dealers, London, no.5815.; Anon. sale, Christie's, London, 20 April 1990, lot 5 (sold for £15,657).; An important Private Collection, UK.

Note: The present work is a charming example of Bristow’s output, with the depiction of animals a subject for which he was particularly celebrated. Indeed, he had great sympathy with animals, was highly skilled at rendering their characteristic movements and expressions, and is said to have been a friend of and given advice to the renowned animal painter Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873). Here, Bristow exhibits this humorous subject with technical skill, faithfully representing the texture of the donkey’s hair alongside the detailed treatment of the variety of vegetables to the right. The interaction between the boy and his donkey recalls the compositions of George Stubbs (1724-1806), but with the impressive and powerful champion racehorses here replaced by an intransigent donkey. Furthermore, the prominence of the vegetables here points to compositions by the likes of Joachim Beuckelaer (c.1533-c.1570), in whose paintings the main action is often reduced against the foregrounding of bounteous and minutely-observed displays of food.
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