Mother and children [Night and Her Children Aither and Hemera, from Hesiod's "Theogony"]

This unfinished soft ground etching is based on a chalk drawing by Ottley at the British Museum. At one time, the print was attributed to Henry Fuseli by Gert Schiff, an expert on that Swiss artist whom Ottley worked with in Rome in the 1790s. Schill appears, however, to have been unaware of Ottley's drawing. The reattribution of this print to Ottley is supported by similarities between its technique and other Ottley etchings (for example MMA 67.539.211). The handling differs considerably from Fuseli's distinct style in "The Night Hag" of 1812 (MMA 53.535.25). We thank Hugo Chapman, curator at the British Museum, for noting the connection between the Ottley drawing in the latter collection and the Met print, and for proposing this reattribution.

The physicality of the figures here, and their interwoven poses, demonstrate the artist's admiration for both Michelangelo and Fuseli. Schiff titled the print "Night embracing her children Aether (Sky) and Hemera (Day)," from Hesiod's poem "Theogony." Since other Ottley etchings of family groups carry no such literary meaning, it is possible that the present work simply shows an Italian mother embracing her children. While in Rome in the 1790s, Ottley formed a significant collection of paintings and drawings which he sold after returning to London in 1801. He also became a skilled amateur draftsman and printmaker and, in 1833, was appointed Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum.