Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii
modeled 1855–56, carved 1858
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
130.8 × 64.1 × 91.4 cm (51 1/2 × 25 1/4 × 36 in.)
Classification
sculpture
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
2446
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This statue is based on a character from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s popular 1834 novel The Last Days of Pompeii. In the episode depicted here, Nydia and her two companions attempt to flee the city after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The three become separated, however, and Randolph Rogers captured Nydia as she gropes her way through the burning city. The broken Corinthian column at her feet symbolizes fallen Pompeii, and Nydia’s clinging garments, entangled in her staff, indicate her chaotic surro...
About the Artist
Randolph Rogers · 1825–1892
Randolph Rogers (1825–1892) was a prominent American Neoclassical sculptor whose career bridged the worlds of popular genre sculpture and grand public commissions. Born on July 6, 1825, in Waterloo, New York, the son of a carpenter and millwright, Rogers grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after his family relocated westward in pursuit of opportunity. Showing early aptitude for drawing and wood engrav...