HENRY WYATT (BRITISH 1794-1840)THE CORSAIR, FIRE IN HIS GLANCE AND WILDNESS IN HIS BREASTOil on canvasSigned and dated 1833 (lower right)90 x 70cm (35¼ x 27½ in.)Exhibited:London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 29th of May - 25th of August 1975 (unnumbered)Provenance:Thomas Agnew and Sons, Ltd. LondonThe subject is taken from the First Canto (XVI) of Lord Byron's tale, The Corsair of 1813, which tells the story of the privateer Conrad, a man of loneliness and mystery who perceives himself a villain. It was an extremely popular work, selling ten thousand copies on its first day of sale, and inspired numerous other works such as the opera Il Corsaro by Giuseppe Verdi, the overture Le Corsaire by Hector Berlioz and the ballet of the same name by Adolphe Adam.