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James Smetham
1821-1889
the earthly paradise; pan and the nymphs
a pair, both inscribed with title on the reverse
oil on board (2)
both 17.5 by 28 cm., 6 7/8 by 11 in.
The first of these two panels by James Smetham takes its title from William Morris's verse cycle The Earthly Paradise, written in the second half of the 1860s and published in 1868-70. In the poem a company of Norseman find their way to a 'nameless city in a distant sea' where the gods of the Greek world are still worshipped. The inhabitants of the city take turns to tell the legends of ancient mythology, while the wanderers alternate these with their own medieval and Norse stories. Between these are interpolated lyrical descriptions of the changing seasons.
Smetham had first encountered Morris in 1854, when at Ruskin's suggestion he had attended classes at the Working Men's College (where Morris was a part-time teacher). In due course Smetham himself took to writing poetry, efforts which are described and discussed in the letters that he exchanged with D.G. Rossetti. Morris and Smetham coincided from time to time as fellow members of the latter-day Pre-Raphaelite circle (although Smetham was painfully withdrawn and dreaded social engagements). Smetham's adoption of a title which a contemporary audience would have immediately recognised as referring to a famous and much loved poem was perhaps intended as a tribute to Morris.
The second painting, which probably also dates from about 1870, may relate to a composition entitled Nymphs in the Twilight which Smetham sold to the Glasgow patron and Liberal member of parliament William Graham, for 75 guineas.