Narcissus and nymph Echo

Taras Shevchenko. Narcissus and the nymph Echo. Bristol paper, sepia (25.7 × 21.2 cm). [Novopetrovsk fort]. [Summer 1856]. Taras Shevchenko National Museum, inv. g – 291.

Lower left – author's sign in ink: T. Shevchenko.

On the back in the middle of the bottom ink inscription by hand Shevchenko: 7. Narcissus and the nymph Echo.

Drawing done on the subject of ancient Greek myth about the handsome Narcissus who saw his reflection in the water, fall in love with himself, pined away from that love and turned into a flower, which was named after him. Loving him nymph Echo so dry of hopeless love, of whom there was only the sound.

Sketch of aquatic flowers to this image see number 167. Climbing plants, shown in the figure, repeated in figures number 51, 55, 65. Reed in this figure is similar to the sketch number 172, used in the picture "Happy catcher».

Nymph Echo reminds nymph Calypso in the picture "Telemachus on Calypso's island». Figure similar to the picture "Narcissus and the nymph Echo", but different in composition.

Motives of dating see number 46.

Storage areas: Tsvetkov gallery, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Institute of Taras Shevchenko, Kharkiv – Kyiv, Gallery of pictures Shevchenko, Kharkiv.

In 1909 – 1910 was displayed at an exhibition of prints and drawings at the Academy of Arts (Product, № 196).

V. O. Sudak

After publication: Taras Shevchenko Complete Works in 10 volumes. – Kyiv: ed. Academy of sciences of UkrSSR, 1964, Vol. 9, № 52 (image), p. 32 – 33 (note).