The Nymph Ino and the Infant Bacchus
Sculptor: Wyatt, Richard James
White marble, carved in the round, supported on a simulated grey granite pedestal, capped and footed with white marble.
History note: Christie's, 17 October, 1974, Objects of Art and Victorian Furniture, Eastern Rugs and Carpets, lot 95, illustrated, pl. 7; Heim Gallery (London) Ltd., 59 Jermyn Street, St James's, London.
Bought with the Leverton Harris Fund and Cunliffe Fund with assistance from the University Purchase and Duplicate Objects Fund
Height: 130.2 cm
Method of acquisition: Bought (1975-01-30) by Christie's
19th Century
1834
-
1836
Having studied sculpture in London, Richard James Wyatt (1795-1850) moved to Rome in 1821 to work in the studios of the Neoclassical sculptors Canova and Thorvaldsen before establishing his own workshop. By the 1830s, he was renowned for his virtuoso carving of large-scale marble figures and harmoniously-composed groups, and gained many commissions from English visitors in Rome. This group was commissioned by Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850) when he was in Rome in 1834, shortly before he became Prime Minister. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1836, its critical success resulted in several other versions being commissioned.
In Greek mythology, Ino and her husband Athamas, King of Orchomenus, took in the infant Dionysus, the orphaned son of Zeus and Semele. In order to conceal him from Hera (who was jealous of Zeus’s love children) they dressed Dionysus as a girl, but Hera discovered their deceit and punished them by making them insane. Dionysus was the Greek god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, and this explains the presence of the bunch of grapes, the kylix (wine-drinking cup) and over-turned amphora (storage jar for wine and oil).
Figure Group
composed of
white marble
Pedestal
composed of
grey granite
Carving : White marble, carved in the round, supported on a simulated grey granite pedestal, capped and footed with white marble
Accession number: M.1-1975
Primary reference Number: 31061
External ID: CAM_CCF_M_1_1975
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "The Nymph Ino and the Infant Bacchus" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/31061 Accessed: 2024-12-31 09:29:20
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/31061
|title=The Nymph Ino and the Infant Bacchus
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-31 09:29:20|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-31061
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...