Description
"It was one of the few moments in her brief and troubled life that it was sweet to treasure." Weaving a rose garland as a present for her beloved master Glaucus, the blind servant Nydia resists speaking of her love for him. The scene is based on Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton's enormously popular historical novel The Last Days of Pompeii (published in 1835), a melodramatic epic set in ancient Roman times, which culminates with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Responding to the 19th-century appetite for things antique, the artist filled his historical scenes with depictions of Roman frescoes and statuary. Dutch by birth, Alma-Tadema made this picture in Brussels for a London art dealer. But the demand for such paintings became so great that he moved to England, where he achieved great financial and social success.
Provenance
Ernest Gambart, London, United Kingdom, by commission of the artist (1867); Ernest Gambart [1814-1902], London, United Kingdom, after 1870 sold to José de Murrieta, alias Marquis de Santurce. (1867-1870); (Christie's, London, United Kingdom, April 7, 1883, lot 164, Marquis de Santurce sale, bought in) (1883); (Christie's, London, United Kingdom, March 30, 1895, lot 143, sold to Stephen Gooden & Fox) (1895); ( Stephen Gooden & Fox, London. United Kingdom, sold to Thomas Agnew & Sons) (1895); (Thomas Agnew & Son, London, United Kingdom, January 15, 1917 sold to A.G. O'Neil) (1917); (Sotheby's Belgravia, Funt Collection Sale, November 6, 1973, lot 8, sold to Jules Brassner, New York. (1973); Jules Brasser [1916-1999], New York, NY, sold to Mr. Noah Butkin; Mr. Noah Butkin [1918-1980],Cleveland, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1977); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1977-)
Accession Number
1977.128
Medium
oil on wood panel
Dimensions
Framed: 55.5 x 81 x 4.5 cm (21 7/8 x 31 7/8 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 39 x 64.3 cm (15 3/8 x 25 5/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin
Tags
Painting Impressionist & Modern (1851–1900) Oil Painting Panel Painting British
Background & Context
Background Story
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) was a Dutch-born British painter known for the precisely detailed depictions of ancient Roman life that made him one of the most popular painters of the Victorian era. Glaucus and Nydia from 1867 depicts an episode from Bulwer-Lytton's novel The Last Days of Pompeii in the precisely detailed, archaeological manner that distinguishes Alma-Tadema's best work. The 1867 date places this in Alma-Tadema's early period, before he had fully developed the precisely detailed archaeological manner of his mature work, but the painting already shows the interest in ancient Roman subject matter that would make him famous.
Cultural Impact
Glaucus and Nydia is important in Alma-Tadema's early oeuvre because it shows the development of the precisely detailed, archaeological manner that would make him one of the most popular painters of the Victorian era. The 1867 painting, based on Bulwer-Lytton's bestselling novel, shows Alma-Tadema developing the ancient Roman subject matter and detailed archaeological manner that would characterize his mature work, and it represents the beginning of the career that would make Victorian Britain's most popular painter of ancient life.
Why It Matters
Glaucus and Nydia is Alma-Tadema's beginning: an episode from The Last Days of Pompeii rendered in the detailed manner that would make him Victorian Britain's most popular painter of ancient life. The 1867 painting shows the archaeological subject matter and detailed manner that would characterize his mature work.
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