Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii (modeled 1855–56, carved 1858): Artwork and History

Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii (modeled 1855–56, carved 1858) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Randolph Rogers (American, 1825–1892).

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

This statue is based on a character from Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s popular 1834 novel The Last Days of Pompeii. In the episode depicted here, Nydia and her two companions attempt to flee the city after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The three become separated, however, and Randolph Rogers captured Nydia as she gropes her way through the burning city. The broken Corinthian column at her feet symbolizes fallen Pompeii, and Nydia’s clinging garments, entangled in her staff, indicate her chaotic surroundings. Because of its narrative quality, sentimental presentation, and classical features and proportions, this sculpture was extremely popular with the American public upon its first being exhibited.

Object facts

• Title: Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii
• Date: modeled 1855–56, carved 1858
• Artist attribution: Randolph Rogers (American, 1825–1892)
• Place of origin: Rome
• Medium: Marble
• Dimensions: 130.8 × 64.1 × 91.4 cm (51 1/2 × 25 1/4 × 36 in.)
• Type: Sculpture
• Department: Arts of the Americas
• Reference number: 1896.77

Collection credit

Bequest of Mrs. Uri Balcom

View the original

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.