This sheet depicts :Satan exhorting a Rebel Angel," a subject inspired by John Milton's Paradise Lost and dateable to about 1792-3 (email correspondence with Alex Kidson, 8 November 2009). Romney completed many similar studies on this subject (John Morton Morris & Co. 1980, cats. 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72; Jaffé 1977, cats. 114, 115, 116). Works cited: Drawings by George Romney, 1734-1802, exh. cat. (London: John Morton Morris & Co., 1980); Patricia Jaffé, Drawings by George Romney (Cambridge; London; New York; Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 1977).
Watermark: Britannia, fragment of crown and double circle with figure inside.
McCrindle, Joseph F., former owner.