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The Origin of the Harp
painting
Maclise, Daniel R.A.
Europe
1842
1917.269
oil
110.4 x 85 cm
The Origin of the Harp 1842 (removed from display)
Daniel Maclise 1806-70
Oil on canvas
This painting is based on a poem of the same name
by Maclise's friend and fellow Irishman Thomas Moore.
Based on Irish folklore it tells of a sea siren
who weeps for a spurned lover.
She is turned into a harp by the heavens.
The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy
with the following lines from Moore:
Still her bosom rose fair - still her cheek smiled
the same,
While her sea beauties curl'd round the frame;
And her hair, shedding tear drops from all its
bright rings,
Fell over her white arms to make the gold strings.
Maclise's eroticisation of the story drew comment.
One reviewer found the siren to be
'a trifle too full in her form, and too rosy in her cheek.'
James Gresham bequest 1917.269
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