The guarded flame

Henry Ryland had a successful and varied career as a painter, designer and watercolourist. He initially trained at the South Kensington School of Art before going to Paris and studying at the Académie Julian under Jules Joseph Lefebvre. Throughout his career he exhibited frequently, particularly at the Royal Academy and the New Gallery, and established a reputation as one of the foremost neo-classical painters of the period working in watercolour.

Ryland was jointly influenced by the neo-Classicism of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), the aestheticism of Albert Moore (1841-1893), and by the Pre-Raphaelites. This culminated in his distinctive style and interest in depicting single figures, with classical motifs and detailed floral embellishments. Ryland’s use of watercolour is characterised by the richness of colours in his palette and the high degree of finish throughout the picture plane.

Exhibited at the New Gallery’s, Summer Exhibition in 1908, this work was created in Ryland’s later life and is an example of the aforementioned distinctive and polished style. The girl is dressed in ancient Greek clothing, her gaze directed upwards, whilst clutching a string of white rosary beads: the whiteness serving to further emphasise the woman’s purity.

Depictions of moral quandaries had long interested Ryland and one of his illustrations can be seen on the cover of The Quiver, a periodical that focused on morality and the advancement of religion. The woman in this lot looks for religious guidance, as she battles against her desires, in her pursuit to remain pure and chaste. Ryland's inclusion of her auburn hair and red clothing further serves to identify her as The Guarded Flame.