Panthea, Wife of Abradates, Stabs herself
1790–1800
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 3/8 × 4 11/16 in. (8.6 × 11.9 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Spencer Bickerton, 1933
Accession Number
33.69.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This intimate drawing by Edward Francis Burney captures a moment of profound tragedy from classical literature: the suicide of Panthea, devoted wife of the Persian warrior Abradates. Created between 1790 and 1800, the work depicts the heroine taking her own life after her husband’s death in battle, a story drawn from ancient accounts of loyalty and honor. Burney, a British artist known for his literary illustrations, renders the scene with delicate precision on a small sheet measuring just over four inches wide. Executed in pen and brown ink with gray wash, the drawing exemplifies the refined...
About the Artist
Edward Francis Burney · 1760–1848
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