Richard James Wyatt - Nymph entering the Bath

Richard James Wyatt
(London 1795 - 1850 Rome)

Nymph entering the bath

Circa 1834
White marble
Signed: R. J. WYATT FECIT ROMÆ
Height 155cm

In 1834 Il Tiberino, a Roman magazine specializing in contemporary art, registered the execution of a work that without a doubt can be identified with ‘Nymph entering the bath’. In his writings about the work the art critic Filippo Gerardi noticed the iconographic novelty of the composition when he described its features. He focused on the depiction of subtle psychological and motorial elements in the movement of the nymph:

The movement of this sculpture is natural and simple yet full of life; she brings her left leg forward and with the tip of her toe she seems to touch the water in which she will take a bath. At this her whole person seems to radiate the impression that is caused by the contact of the human body with a cold liquid. The nymph bends over slightly, her stomach muscles contract, she draws back her left arm and her hand contracts in a very natural way, all this to reflect a certain shiver that goes through her. The statue has been well designed and formed with great skill and openness, of which the curves and smoothness of her limbs testify; they look more like flesh than marble. The head of the nymph is all loveliness; her features are soft and delicate, her hair is carelessly tied behind her head and give her figure a certain innocence. Some however say that the face of the young girl shows a hint of tension coming from the contact with the cold water, and that is visible in all other parts of her body”