Lydia (painting)
| Lydia | |
|---|---|
_-_Lydia_-_T04848_-_Tate.jpg) | |
| Artist | William Peters |
| Year | 1777 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, genre painting |
| Dimensions | 77 cm × 64.2 cm (30 in × 25.3 in) |
| Location | |
Lydia is a 1777 oil painting by the British artist William Peters.[1] It depicts a young woman, often considered to be a courtesan laying topless in bed. The painting was displayed at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1777 held in Pall Mall where it attracted significant attention with many treating it as a form of erotic art despite the tradition of nudes being displayed.[2]
It was turned into an mezzotint by the engraver William Dickinson even before it featured at the Royal Academy. [3] Peters subsequently became an Anglican clergyman in 1781 and came to regret pictures such as this he had previously produced.[4] The original painting is now in the collection of the Tate Britain in Pimlico, having been purchased in 1986.[5]
References
- ↑ Manners p.52
- ↑ "1777 The News From America". chronicle250.com. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Lydia | Matthew William Peters | Dickinson, William | V&A Explore The Collections". collections.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "'Lydia', Rev. Matthew William Peters, c.1777". Tate. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "artuk.org/discover/artworks/lydia-201209". artuk.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
Bibliography
- Manners, Victoria. Matthew William Peters, R. A. His Life and Work. Connoisseur, 1913.