Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene

from the sources

• The painting is an 1864 watercolour on paper by Simeon Solomon. en.wikipedia.org

  “Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene is an 1864 watercolour painting on paper by Simeon Solomon.”

• The painting has been in the Tate Britain collection since it was bought at auction in 1980. en.wikipedia.org

  “It has been in the collection of Tate Britain since it was bought at auction in 1980.”

• The painting shows Sappho and Erinna seated on a stone bench in a garden in Mytilene on Lesbos. en.wikipedia.org

  “They are seated on a stone bench with a high curved back amid the foliage of a garden in Mytilene, on the island of Lesbos.”

• Sappho is shown leaning in to embrace Erinna, with their faces gently touching. en.wikipedia.org

  “Sappho leans in to embrace Erinna, their faces gently touching.”

• The date and Solomon's signature appear in the lower right corner as a stone inscription using two Greek sigmas. en.wikipedia.org

  “The date and Solomon's signature as two Greek sigmas are portrayed as a stone instruction, "ΣΣ / 2.64", in the lower right corner.”

• James Leathart bought the painting, and his executors auctioned it in 1897 after his death in 1895. en.wikipedia.org

  “After Leathart's death in 1895, the painting was auctioned by his executors in 1897.”

• The painting later passed to Solomon Golding and was sold by his son Jessel Golding at Sotheby's in 1980, when the Tate bought it. en.wikipedia.org

  “It later came into the collection of Solomon Golding, and was sold by his son Jessel Golding at Sotheby's in 1980, when it was bought by the Tate.”

• Solomon was inspired by Swinburne's writing on Sappho, including the poem Anactoria, when making the work. en.wikipedia.org

  “Inspired by the writing on Sappho by Algernon Swinburne, including Swinburne's poem Anactoria, Solomon believed Erinna to have been a companion of Sappho on Lesbos during the late 7th century BC”