Dimensions frame: 434 x 460 x 70 mm support: 324 x 352 mm
Curator: Thomas Stothard gives us "Nymphs Discover the Narcissus," currently held at the Tate Britain. It feels like a stage tableau. Editor: Yes, a bit somber, almost like catching a forbidden moment in a dark forest—the nymphs feel like they're intruding. Curator: It's interesting, the theatrical feel might come from Stothard's background in illustrating books and designing for the stage. Notice how he groups them. Editor: Exactly, that clustering really emphasizes their shared voyeurism, or perhaps their concern for Narcissus's fate. He is, after all, draped precariously, a signal for tragic fall. Curator: I suppose this dark rendering is Stothard’s reflection on beauty’s self-destructive path. Editor: Perhaps; regardless, it's unsettling, and stays with you.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/stothard-nymphs-discover-the-narcissus-n01069
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Thomas Stothard depicts a scene here from the Roman poet Ovid’s mythological narrative, Metamorphoses. The boy Narcissus, obsessed with his own reflection in the water, wastes away and turns into a flower. Here a group of nymphs discover the flower growing on the riverbank. The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1793. Stothard’s steadiest form of income was book illustration, but his reputation as a history painter was beginning to grow in the 1790s. It was on this basis that he was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1794. Gallery label, October 2023
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