Composition from the Tragedies of Aeschylus, plate 17 (recto); Goddess Statue from the Suppliants, plate 7 (verso)
19th century
Medium
Graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 3/8 × 15 11/16 in. (26.3 × 39.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Museum Accession
Accession Number
X.816
Tags
Art Historical Context
John Flaxman's *Composition from the Traged of Aeschylus, 17 (recto); Goddess Statue from the Supants, plate 7 (verso)* is a double-sided graphite drawing from the 19 century, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Department of Drawings and Prints. the recto, Flaxman sketches a dynamic scene likely evoking the ancient Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, featuring, horses, and chari in fluid, linear compositions that pulse with dramatic tension. The verso presents a serene goddess statue from *The Suppliants*, one of Aeschylus's earliest surviving plays, where the daughters of Danaus plead for ...
About the Artist
John Flaxman · 1755–1826
John Flaxman (1755–1826) was born in York, England, the son of John Flaxman Sr., a moulder and seller of plaster casts who ran a studio in London's Covent Garden. Largely self-taught amid his father's stock of classical casts, with minimal formal schooling due to childhood illness, Flaxman displayed prodigious talent early on. At age 12, he won a Society of Arts prize for a medallion; by 15, anoth...