Skip to Content
Log InRegister
    HomePaintingsDrawingsPrintsBrowse All WorksWilson CollectionsWilson Collections MapTercentenary ExhibitionOther ExhibitionsProject HighlightsThemes and MediaBiographiesBibliographical Resources
    Advanced Search
    Work of ArtBiographiesExhibitionsBibliographical Resources
    Settings
    Pages
    300 years
    Return to "Sharp " is linked to these Works 5 items
    of 5

    Niobe

    This item is active and ready to use
    Niobe
    Niobe
    Niobe
    The Trustees of the British Museum
    title=Credit line
    Larger ImageShareFeedback
    Artist
    William Sharp (1749-1824) after Wilson
    Title
    Niobe
    Date
    c. 1787 (undated)
    Medium
    Pen and black ink, over graphite, on brown oiled paper, squared for transfer
    Dimensions
    Metric: 125 x 370 mm (irregular)
    Imperial: 4 7/8 x 14 9/16 in. (irregular)
    Collection
    The British Museum. To license image, click here
    Accession Number
    1853,1210.474
    Wilson Online Reference
    NWD400
    Description
    Niobe and eleven of her children are shown at the height of the attack on them by Apollo and Artemis. Two of her sons attempt to flee on horeback behind at the left.
    Provenance
    Purchased from: A E Evans & Sons, 1 Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, 1853
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Subject
    The subject derives from Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book 6, lines 144-312. Niobe, daughter of Tantalus and Queen of Thebes, is punished for having dared to suggest, because she had seven sons and seven daughters, that she was superior to the goddess Leto (or Latona). Apollo and Artemis, children of Leto, killed all of Niobe's offspring in revenge and she herself wept until she was turned into stone.
    Related Drawings
    D355 Recumbent Male Nude, National Museum Wales, Cardiff (NMW A 1885)
    Related Prints
    E52 William Sharp and Samuel Smith after Wilson, Niobe , 1788, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    E54 William Sharp and Samuel Smith after Wilson, Niobe , 1792, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, USA (B1977.14.14569) and other impressions
    E58 William Sharp and Samuel Smith Niobe, 1803, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (1577/3) and other impressions
    E79/1 Samuel Lacey after Wilson, Niobe, c.1836, The British Museum
    E86 William James Linton after Wilson, Destruction of the Children of Niobe, The British Museum
    Critical commentary
    William Sharp was responsible for the figures in the prints E52, E54 and E58. This is his preliminary drawing for the group prior to transfer to the plate.
    Condition/Conservation
    Badly stained in several places. Tear upper left.
    Updated by Compiler
    2017-09-01 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Recumbent Male Nude, National Museum Wales, Cardiff (NMW A 1885)

    Prints

    • William Sharp (1749-1824) and Samuel Smith (1745-1810), Niobe, 1788, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    • William Sharp (1749-1824) and Samuel Smith (1745-1810), Niobe, 1792, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    • William Sharp and Samuel Smith Niobe, 1803, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (1577/3) and other impressions
    • Samuel Lacey after Wilson, Niobe, The British Museum
    • William James Linton after Wilson, Destruction of the Children of Niobe, The British Museum

    Paintings

    • The Destruction of Niobe's Children, Ex-National Gallery (destroyed)
    • Studio of Wilson, Apollo destroying the Children of Niobe, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
    • The Destruction of Niobe's Children, Collection of Richard L. Feigen & Co

    Biographies

    • William Sharp (1749-1824)
    • Samuel Smith (1745-1808)
    • Sir George Beaumont (1753-1827)
    © Richard Wilson OnlineCreditsCopyright & DisclaimerPrivacy