William Tell Peter Paul A lost picture almost identical

A lost picture almost identical to this

A painting in Helsinki's Sinebrychoff Museum

Only the head is finished

This painting was reviously catalogued as Monamy

An early copy of Van Dyck's original in the Royal Collection

William Tell Peter Paul A lost picture almost identicalThe fourteenth century Swiss legend of William Tell would have no doubt been particularly resonant for Bourgeois, whose father was from Switzerland. The tale centres on William Tell obeying governor Gessler's order to shoot an apple from his own son's head. He did, before killing the governor and liberating Switzerland from Austrian rule. Schiller's famous tragedy on Tell appeared in 1804, around the time this picture was painted. The influence of De