Sleeping Endymion
Artist
Nicolas Guy Brenet
(French, 1728–1792)
Date1756
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 80.6 x 98.7 cm (31 3/4 x 38 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number1973.12
Label TextIn 1756 Brenet won the Prix de Rome, an esteemed art scholarship that afforded the recipient a multi-year stay in Rome. It was tradition that the artist holding the Prix de Rome send back a nude study based on classical models. This painting is believed to be the work he sent to the Academy in Paris after his first year abroad to document his progress. It demonstrates that Brenet was initially still drawn to the light palette and fresh brushwork in style in France. His subject—the youthful shepherd Endymion—was drawn from classical mythology. The moon goddess, Selene, fell in love with Endymion and caused him to fall into an eternal sleep, so that his youth and beauty would be preserved and she could visit him nightly.ProvenanceHerner Wengraf, Ltd., London England; then sold to the Worcester Art Museum, September 14, 1972.On View
On view
