About this artwork

This watercolour shows the eastern end of the south side of the Parthenon in Athens. Lusieri was employed by Lord Elgin to record and supervise the removal of sculptures from the building. Due to the extensive correspondence between Lusieri and Elgin, is possible to identify when Lusieri made this drawing. The south-east corner of the building had its metopes removed in two stages between 1802 and 1803. The last three that are visible in the drawing were only removed in the late summer of 1803. Lusieri wrote to Elgin that ‘before having the three metopes taken down, I wished to finish my drawing of them which I started a long time ago’. For some reason, Elgin never received the drawing, and this, along with another Lusieri watercolour (D NG 711), were acquired by Lady Ruthven.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
  • title:
    The South-east Corner of the Parthenon, Athens
  • date created:
    1803
  • materials:
    Watercolour on paper
  • measurements:
    64.00 x 83.00 cm; (framed: 87.00 x 117.50 cm x 3.00 cm)
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Mary Hamilton Campbell, Lady Ruthven Bequest 1885
  • accession number:
    D NG 710
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Giovanni Battista Lusieri

Giovanni Battista Lusieri