Lawrence MacDonald, Scottish, 1799-1878
Title: Eurydice
Date: 1837
Medium: Marble
Dimensions:
139.5 x 57.5 x 48 cm
Signed: On reverse of base: L. MACDONALD FECIT. ROMA 1837
Credit Line: Purchased, 1984 (Shaw Fund)
Object Number: NGI.8303
DescriptionAs she dries herself after bathing, Eurydice receives the fatal snakebite that will send her to the Underworld, although her demeanor is still calm. The attempts by her husband Orpheus, to rescue her are among the best-known Greek myths, related by the poets Ovid and Virgil.
MacDonald trained in Scotland and lived principally in Rome from 1823, working in a neoclassical style. His subject here is an idealised nude for which he has devised an intricate pose and fall of drapery; the result is a figure that should be seen in the round. MacDonald's subject pieces are fewer in number than his portrait busts, which are less innovative.
This statue was commissioned by the 6th Viscount Powerscourt and was originally displayed in the first-floor Saloon of Powerscourt House, Co. Wicklow, where it stood alongside family portraits by MacDonald, subject pieces by his contemporaries and copies after the antique. Subsequently it was for many years sited out of doors on the upper terrace of the famous gardens. Lichen and other blemishes were removed after acquisition to bring back the prisitine whiteness of the marble.
MacDonald trained in Scotland and lived principally in Rome from 1823, working in a neoclassical style. His subject here is an idealised nude for which he has devised an intricate pose and fall of drapery; the result is a figure that should be seen in the round. MacDonald's subject pieces are fewer in number than his portrait busts, which are less innovative.
This statue was commissioned by the 6th Viscount Powerscourt and was originally displayed in the first-floor Saloon of Powerscourt House, Co. Wicklow, where it stood alongside family portraits by MacDonald, subject pieces by his contemporaries and copies after the antique. Subsequently it was for many years sited out of doors on the upper terrace of the famous gardens. Lichen and other blemishes were removed after acquisition to bring back the prisitine whiteness of the marble.
ProvenanceCommissioned by the 6th Viscount Powerscourt, in Rome, 1836; by descent in the family at Powerscourt, County Wicklow, until 1961, when the house, contents and demesne, were sold to Mr and Mrs Ralph Slazenger; purchased, Christie's, 25 September 1984
Exhibition HistoryAcquisitions 1984-86, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 25 September - 2 November 1986
Label TextAccording to Greek myth, Eurydice, a nymph and one of Apollo’s daughters, was fatally poisoned by a snake. Her husband Orpheus tried, but failed, to rescue her from the Underworld. In this sculpture, MacDonald depicts Eurydice drying herself, as if unaware of the imminent danger. The artist studied in Rome before returning to Edinburgh, in 1827, where he made his name as a portrait sculptor in the classical style. This sculpture was commissioned by the 6th Viscount Powerscourt, probably for the saloon at Powerscourt House, Co. Wicklow.