Pepys and Nell Gwynne
Artist
Augustus Leopold Egg
(English, 1816 - 1863)
Date1851
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsImage: 33 1/2 × 43 1/2 in. (85.1 × 110.5 cm)
Frame: 42 3/16 × 52 × 4 in. (107.2 × 132.1 × 10.2 cm)
Frame: 42 3/16 × 52 × 4 in. (107.2 × 132.1 × 10.2 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Lewis Gruber, 1962
Object number228.23P
DescriptionSamuel Pepys (1633-1703), Naval Administrator and Member of Congress, kisses the actress as they are introduced by another actress, Mary Knipp (or Knep), backstage at a performance of the play “The Humorous Lieutenant.” Mrs. Pepys stands with her back to the viewer. Other actresses and actors participate in private intrigues and dramas around the central figures.eMuseum Notes
Nell Gwyn (or
Gwynn) (1650-1687) was among the first generation of female actresses in
English theater. (Female parts had been played by male actors prior.) Another
novelty of the time was the introduction of set pieces to break up the space
and impart a sense of depth. The oblique angles in Egg’s behind the scenes
setting show us the curtain (far left), back drops (middle) and flats (right),
cut to the shapes of painted foliage. Egg painted the set elements to look like
painted two-dimensional cloth and to stand out as purposely flat next to the
more three-dimensional figures. Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), Naval Administrator
and Member of Congress, kisses the actress as they are introduced by another actress,
Mary Knipp (or Knep), backstage at a performance of the play “The Humorous
Lieutenant.” Mrs. Pepys stands with her back to the viewer. Other actresses and
actors participate in private intrigues and dramas around the central figures.
On View
Not on viewThere are no works to discover for this record.