TitleAriadne
Engraver
Asher B. Durand
(American, 1796 - 1886)
Original artistAfter
John Vanderlyn
(American, 1775 - 1852)
Date1835
MediumEngraving on chine collé
DimensionsImage size: 14 3/16 × 17 3/4 in.
Sheet size (irregular): 17 3/16 × 20 13/16 in.
Mat size: 23 × 25 in.
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number1981.500
Label TextAsher B. Durand, a founder of the National Academy of Design and its second president, was a master of metal engraving during the first phase of his career. In 1831 he purchased the American artist John Vanderlyn's painting "Ariadne Asleep on the Island of Naxos" (1809-1814, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts), one of the first major American paintings of the nude. He also purchased a small unfinished replica (Metropolitan Museum of Art) that served as the basis for this engraving, which is generally considered to be one of the greatest American prints of the 19th-century. In the picture, drawn from Greek mythology, Ariadne, daughter of Minos, King of Crete, sleeps on the banks of the island of Naxos while her lover, the Athenian hero Theseus, gathers up his crew on the distant shore in preparation for his departure and abandonment of her.
