The Nymph Ino and the Infant Bacchus

The Nymph Ino and the Infant Bacchus

R. J. Wyatt, 1795-1850

1834(?)

White marble on a simulated grey granite pedestal

Courtesy of Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

[Detail]

Wyatt, originally a Londoner, was the son of a carver and gilder. He left England in his twenties when he was invited to work in Rome at the studio of Antonio Canova, honing his skills there alongside John Gibson, and moving on with Gibson to the studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen when Canova died. Although he settled in Rome permanently, he often exhibited at the Royal Academy and some of his works were also displayed at the Great Exhibition. He is particularly known for his female figures, and this is considered to be one of his very best sculptures (the original version, which this may well be, was commissioned by Sir Robert Peel in 1834). F. M. O'Donoghue writes: "He was a sculptor of great sensitivity. His neo-classical taste, though softened by an interest in poetic and naturalistic subjects, never degenerated into sentimental naturalism." This comment seems to apply perfectly to The Nymph Ino and the Infant Bacchus, in which tenderness does not prevent Ino from keeping a firm grip on her little nephew/foster-child.

Photograph and text by Jacqueline Banerjee