“blossom And Decay” Oil On Canvas, Late 19th Century.

“Blossom and Decay”
Oil on canvas, late 19th century, playing on an optical illusion, attributed to Ignatius Krausz Defeher, depicting two lovers whose silhouettes create the illusion of a skull; the work is set in a rectangular frame of gilt and ebonised wood, with a velvet lining.

A print depicting the same subject was published on December 15, 1860, by J. K. Defeher to benefit Freemasonry. A lithograph of the same scene is part of the British Museum’s collection.

Frame size: 38 cm x 34 cm
Canvas: 26.5 cm x 22.5 cm

The reverse of the frame is stamped "John Whibley, Picture Framer, 60 George Street, London"
John Whibley was an art gallery in London, England. At its peak in the 1960s and early 1970s, it was initially located at 60 George Street but was reported to have reopened in 1968 and thereafter was located at 22 Cork Street. It was still functioning in 1973. It attracted artists from as far afield as South Africa and Malaysia. The gallery closed in 1975.
The reverse is inscribed indistinctly in pencil "For Bill Sanson"