Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii
Randolph Rogers, Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii, 1855/1884, marble, Museum Purchase: Funds provided by a bequest of Katharine Talbott Macnab Patten, public domain, 2012.7.1
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii
- Artist
- Date
1855/1884
- Medium
marble
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
37 1/2 in x 25 in x 18 in
- Collection Area
American Art
- Category
Sculpture
- Object Type
sculpture
- Culture
American
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Funds provided by a bequest of Katharine Talbott Macnab Patten
- Accession Number
2012.7.1
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
Executed in Rome, this sculpture was inspired by a character in the English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton's popular 1834 novel, The Last Days of Pompeii. Randolph Rogers depicted Nydia at a climactic moment in the story—escaping from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and searching for her lost loved ones. As a symbol of feminine bravery and sacrifice, the sculpture greatly appealed to a Victorian public. Nydia became Rogers's best-known work and the most popular American full-length statue of its time. The sculpture was produced by Rogers in two sizes, this being the smaller version.
