Meleager and Atalanta

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Meleager and Atalanta
Meleager and Atalanta
Meleager and Atalanta
National Museum Wales, Cardiff
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Earlom (1743-1822) after Wilson
Title
Meleager and Atalanta
Date
Published 20 September 1771
Medium
Mezzotint with etching on laid paper
Dimensions
Metric: 480 x 592 mm (sheet size)
Imperial: 19 x 23 1/4 in. (sheet size)
Accession Number
NMW A 11012
Wilson Online Reference
E23A
Description
In a clearing before a waterfall a group of men surround a giant boar on the right and Meleager, on horseback, drives a spear into the beast. Anceus lies fallen next to it but Atalanta, with two female attendants, is aiming an arrow from the far left. A castle and aqueduct can be seen in the distance.
Exhibited
Tercentenary 2014 (107)
Provenance
Acquired from Suckling & Co. 1930
Signature/inscription
Lettered below image:
[1] Upper left: R. Wilson pinxt.
[2] Upper centre: Robt. Sayer Excudit.
[3] Upper right: R. Earlom sculp.
[4] Lower centre: MELEAGER and ATALANTA | See Ovids Metamors. Book VIII. Pa. 54
[5] Lower centre: From an ORIGINAL PICTURE in the Possession of Mr. Sayer.
[6] Lower right publication line: London. Printed for Robt. Sayer, Map & Printseller. No. 53 in Fleet Street.
[7] Lower right: Published as the Act directs Sepr. 20. 1771.
Verso inscriptions
[1] Lower right, pencil: 30/-
Subject
The subject is taken from the Roman poet, Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC-AD 17/18) known as Ovid. The lovers Meleager and Atalanta killed a huge boar sent by the goddess Diana to devastate the countryside of Calydon. Meleager presented the hide to Atalanta but his uncles, the sons of Thestius, took it from her, whereupon he killed them, leading to his own death (Metamorphoses Book VIII, lines 260-546).
Related Drawings
D167 Study of an antique Altar, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Related Prints
E46 William Woollett and Benjamin Pouncy after Wilson, Meleager and Atalanta, 1779, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven and other impressions
E55 William Woollett and Benjamin Pouncy after Wilson, Meleager and Atalanta, 1794, Royal Academy of Arts, London and other impressions
E72/32 Thomas Hastings after Wilson, The Murder, The British Museum
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Paintings
P163 Meleager and Atalanta, Tate, London
Related Works by Other Artists
NWD406 Ascribed to John Hamilton Mortimer after Wilson, Meleager and Atalanta
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
30.160
1930.1
Bibliography
Edwards 1808, p. 88; Wilson and Europe 2014, p. 288
Condition/Conservation
Image size: 445 x 560 mm (17 1/2 x 22 in.); plate size: 466 x 560 mm (18 3/8 x 22 in.). Discoloured. Trimmed. Flattened horizontal fold across entire upper surface - invisible from front. Repaired tear lower right.
Updated by Compiler
2017-06-01 00:00:00