This set of small oil studies reveals the artist’s overriding interest in illustration and it is likely that the pictures were in some way related to the artist’s career as an illustrator. Shakespearian subjects had become immensely popular in the last years of the eighteenth century in England. This was largely due to the influence of John Boydell who initiated an immense project for artists to illustrate the works of Shakespeare. Many large scale works were commissioned, not all of which survive. An example of such a Shakespearian picture is Northcote’s The Death of John of Gaunt. The scenes here are likely to be from Sir Walter Scott who was also popular as a source for illustration both in England and in France.

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