Academic Study of a Male Nude lying on a Shroud on Rocks
William Etty RA (York 1787 – York 1849)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1820 - 1829
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
546 x 730 mm (21 ½ x 28 ¾ in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
NT 515711
Caption
William Etty was a very unusual Victorian artist in dedicating himself almost exclusively to the depiction of the nude, which he painted in a glowing and sensual manner, reminiscent of Titian and Rubens. From his faithful studies undertaken at the Academy Life School, Etty produced many mythological and religious scenes, which he constantly subjected to the requirements of ideal art.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Academic Study of a Male Nude lying on a Shroud on Rocks by William Etty RA (York 1787 – York 1849), 1820s. Young male nude, lying on his back, head towards the right, his right leg slightly raised and his right arm resting above his head, his left leg and arm stretched out; he lies on some rocks which are covered in a shroud, composed of an under-cloth of red and over it a cream cloth, on which he lies, a corner of the red cloth serves as a modesty covering; distant sea-scape with reddish clouds and sky. It could it be a study for Polyphemeus or Philoctetes left on the Isle of Lemnos by the Greeks on their passage to Troy.
Provenance
Bequeathed to the National Trust by Huttleston Rogers Broughton, 1st Lord Fairhaven (1896-1966) with the house and the rest of the contents.
Credit line
Anglesey Abbey, The Fairhaven Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
William Etty RA (York 1787 – York 1849), artist
Exhibition history
William Etty: Art and Controversy, York Art Gallery, York, 2011 - 2012