The Combat: Woman Pleading for the Vanquished

The Combat: Woman Pleading for the Vanquished

The Combat: Woman Pleading for the Vanquished is a large oil painting on canvas by English artist William Etty. First exhibited in 1825 and now in the National Gallery of Scotland. Inspired by the Elgin Marbles and intended by the artist to provide a moral lesson on ‘the beauty of mercy’

About The Combat: Woman Pleading for the Vanquished in brief

Summary The Combat: Woman Pleading for the VanquishedThe Combat: Woman Pleading for the Vanquished is a large oil painting on canvas by English artist William Etty. First exhibited in 1825 and now in the National Gallery of Scotland. Inspired by the Elgin Marbles and intended by the artist to provide a moral lesson on ‘the beauty of mercy’ Etty was the first British artist to specialise in the nude, and the reaction of the lower classes to these paintings caused concern throughout the 19th century. Many critics condemned his repeated depictions of female nudity as indecent, although his portraits of male nudes were generally well received. The Combat does not depict a scene from history, literature or religion and is not based on an existing artwork, but is instead a scenes from the artist’s own imagination. It is clearly influenced by his work as well as drawing on classical sculpture, and he had been considering the topic as early as 1821, and took shape following his visit to Italy. The combat has not base on any single incident from history or literature, but on his own imagination, but this was a highly step to take regarding history, which generally depicted themes from religion or literature. It has an expression of blank fceness, while the victorious manned soldier’s sword has a stronger expression of expression and lies beside him on the ground.

It was sold in 1831 to the Royal Scottish Academy, and transferred in 1910 to the National gallery of Scotland, where it remains. It shows a near-nude warrior whose sword has broken, forced to his knees in front of another near- nude soldier who prepares to inflict a killing blow. A kneeling woman clutches the victorious warrior, raising her face to him to beg him to spare his defeated foe. The painting proved too large for Martin’s house, and in 18 31 he sold it on to theRoyal Scottish Academy. In 1821 the Royal Academy accepted and exhibited one of Etty’s works, The Arrival of Cleopatra in Cilicia. The painting was extremely well received, and many of Ety’s fellow artists greatly admired him. Etty had travelled extensively in Italy in 1823, and painted Pandora hastily on his return as a testimonial of recent progress he had made while studying paintings in Italian collections. Pandora Crowned by the Seasons sold for 300guineas ), and secured Etty the position of Associate at theRoyal Academy of Arts. Some critics greatly praised it as a technical accomplishment, while others saw it as a rushed pastiche of Titian and Rubens. Etty tried to replicate its success by painting nude figures in biblical, literary and mythological settings, most notably A Sketch from One of Gray’s Odes in 1822.