Virgil
(1922)
Medium
watercolour over pencil on paper on cardboard
Measurements
56.0 × 72.6 cm irreg. (comp.) 56.0 × 75.9 cm irreg. (sheet) 55.5 × 79.0 cm irreg. (support)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1922
© Courtesy of the artist's estate
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Napier Waller’s highly finished watercolours were unusual in the 1920s because of their literary subjects and grand Neoclassical style. Napier’s depiction of his subjects was often enigmatic. In Virgil, the Roman poet is portrayed as a powerful youth wearing a dagger and escorting a winged horse. The apocalyptic scene in the background illustrates the sacking of Troy described in Virgil’s epic poem the Aeneid. However, the central figures in the composition appear as the Greek hero Bellerophon and his winged horse, Pegasus. The man and horse are shown in profile, the upward movement captured in a stylised Classical form.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in brown paint (in image) l.r.: M Napier Waller
Accession Number
1257-3
Department
Australian Prints & Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest