Download image:
Benjamin West
1738-1820
Sketches of the Parthenon Metopes (Elgin Marbles). Verso: Sketches of Abraham and Isaac (?)
Black chalk on paper; verso: black chalk.
7 3/16 x 4 3/8 inches (182 x 111 mm)
Purchased as the gift of Mrs. Robert H. Charles.
1970.11:135
Download verso image:
Notes:
Watermark: [Turke]y Mill [1]806.
These sketches were made by West of the Elgin Marbles, specifically illustrating the Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapiths. The prostrate figure at the top of the sketch was copied from the South Metope XXVIII. The center and bottom sketches were inspired by, though not copied directly from, the South Metope XXVII.
Provenance:
Estate of the artist; by descent; Harry Margary, the great-grandson of Maria West (daughter of Raphael Lamar West, and granddaughter of Benjamin West); Thos. Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London; from whom purchased 60 drawings, 17 June 1964, and 197 drawings, 15 February 1965, by M. Knoedler and Co., Inc.; from whom purchased 257 drawings by the Morgan Library in 1970.
Associated names:
Margary, Harry, former owner.
Charles, Robert H., Mrs., donor.
Bibliography:
Kraemer, Ruth S. Drawings by Benjamin West and his son Raphael Lamar West. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1975, no. 119, repr.
Catalog link:
Artist page:
School:
Century:
Classification:
Department: