French School, late 18th Century, after William Hodges R.A. Man in Christmas south, Tierra del Fuego with remains of an eighteenth century inscription '..mme du .... .. ...l dans .. terre d. feu' on label on the reverse, unstretched and unframed 11 x 8¾in. (27.9 x 22.2cm.) After Basire's engraving (Cook (1777), II, pl. XXVII; JS 2.140D) of a lost original by Hodges. The present picture follows the direction of Basire's engraving. The face in the oil is lighter and gentler in appearance than the dramatically shadowed face in the engraving. 'They are a little, ugly, half-starved, beardless race. I saw not a tall person amongst them. They were almost naked; their clothing was a seal-skin; some had two or three sewed together, so as to make a cloak ...' (Cook (1777), II, p. 183) Cook ran across the South Pacific from New Zealand to Tierra del Fuego at the end of 1774, anchoring in Christmas Sound on 21 December. Hodges' lost drawing would date to their stay here at the end of December before heading into the South Atlantic in January 1775. Unable to find a Southern Continent in the navigable waters of the South Atlantic, he headed for Cape Town before sailing north, finally to drop anchor at Spithead on 30 July 1775, three years and eighteen days after his departure
French School, late 18th Century, after William Hodges R.A. Man in Christmas south, Tierra del Fuego with remains of an eighteenth century inscription '..mme du .... .. ...l dans .. terre d. feu' on label on the reverse, unstretched and unframed 11 x 8¾in. (27.9 x 22.2cm.) After Basire's engraving (Cook (1777), II, pl. XXVII; JS 2.140D) of a lost original by Hodges. The present picture follows the direction of Basire's engraving. The face in the oil is lighter and gentler in appearance than the dramatically shadowed face in the engraving. 'They are a little, ugly, half-starved, beardless race. I saw not a tall person amongst them. They were almost naked; their clothing was a seal-skin; some had two or three sewed together, so as to make a cloak ...' (Cook (1777), II, p. 183) Cook ran across the South Pacific from New Zealand to Tierra del Fuego at the end of 1774, anchoring in Christmas Sound on 21 December. Hodges' lost drawing would date to their stay here at the end of December before heading into the South Atlantic in January 1775. Unable to find a Southern Continent in the navigable waters of the South Atlantic, he headed for Cape Town before sailing north, finally to drop anchor at Spithead on 30 July 1775, three years and eighteen days after his departure
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
