Wrestlers (picture by Etti)

William Ettie (1787–1849), the seventh son of a miller and a baker from York ^[1] , first enrolled as a printer in Hull ^[2] , and after seven years of training, intending to become an artist at the age of about 18, he moved to London ^[1] . In January 1807, he was accepted into the Royal Academy School as an intern ^[3] , in July he became a student of the famous portrait painter Thomas Lawrence ^[4] , and spent one year under his supervision ^[5] . Being heavily influenced by the works of Titian and Rubens , Etti became famous for writing nudity in works on biblical, literary and mythological subjects ^[6] . Many of Etti's peer colleagues admired his skill, and in 1828 he was elected , earlier than John Constable. ^[7] Etti gained fame and respect for his ability to convey the finest nuances in the image of the human body, as well as the skillful use of contrasts in the image of characters ^[8]

From 1820 to 1829, Etti created fifteen paintings, fourteen of which were nudity ^[9] . While some paintings by foreign artists of this genre were in English private collections, in England itself there was no tradition of nudity, and the exhibition and dissemination of such paintings to the public was prohibited in 1787 by the ^[10] . Etti was the first British artist to specialize in nudity, and the reaction of the lower classes to his paintings was a concern throughout the nineteenth century ^[11] . Although his paintings of naked men were generally well received because of plots of mythological heroes and the classical struggle that were considered acceptable in England ^[12] , many critics condemned Etti for repeated portrayals of female nudity, considering them “indecent” ^{[13] [6]} .

Having been attacked by the press in portraying obscenity, lack of creativity and taste, Etti decided to paint a picture that fits into the moral framework of the time and proves the unfairness of the accusations ^[14] . The result of these intentions was the 1832 work “ The Destroying Angel and Daemons of Evil Interrupting the Orgies of the Vicious and Intemperate ,” by , showing how people dared to bare were subjected to God's punishment ^[15] . Many critics regarded this picture as a contrast to the nude works that Etti was famous for, and some even as a personal repentance of the artist or a rejection of past works ^[16] . Despite this, Etti remained a famous artist specializing in nudity, but making conscious efforts to display moral lessons in his works ^[17] .

The work "Wrestlers" is a from nature, depicting the struggle of black and white men ^[18] . At first glance it seems that the white wrestler dominates, but in fact the sizes of the figures correspond to each other ^{[19] [20]} , which was unusual for Britain at that time, characterized by a common belief that black people are more physically weak than white ^[19] . The struggle that occurs in bright light, invites the viewer to make intensive comparisons between intimacy and violence, dark and fair skin, hard and soft surfaces ^[18] . While the black wrestler is completely naked, a white loincloth is worn on white, although it is possible that it was painted after Etti died ^[19] . Intense light casts deep shadows, emphasizing the bends and muscles of the bodies of the two wrestlers ^[21] , as well as stretching and wrinkling of the skin under the pressure of the hands ^[22] . The action takes place against the backdrop of a dark green curtain and brown walls, and not in the ring ^[23] .

While it is not possible to identify the fighters, the lead curator of British art at the Tate Gallery, Alison Smith, suggested that the white man might be John Wilton Somerset, who might also have served as the model for Little John in 1839 painting by Daniel Maklis “ Robin Hood and His Merry Men Entertaining Richard the Lionheart in Sherwood Forest ” ( Eng. Robin Hood and His Merry Men Entertaining Richard the Lionheart in Sherwood Forest ) ^[19] . Evidence of this can be found in an anonymous article in 1841 published in the journal , in which Wilton was described as a gentleman who had been growing his mustache and beard for several years with which he could get a fruitful harvest ^{[ 24]} . In the context of sweat bodies glistening with sweat, art critic Sarah Victoria Turner suggested that this fact was displayed not just for a dramatic effect, but also as evidence that, after the Royal Academy moved in 1837 to a new building on Trafalgar Square , Studios were located in classrooms, which were cramped and poorly ventilated rooms, crowded with students and lit by gas , which literally glowed the atmosphere ^[23] .

The work "Fighters" is believed to have been written in 1840 ^[25] . Its dimensions are 53.5 by 68.6 centimeters ^[18] . It is likely that Etti in one of the full-time classes of the Royal Academy, which, despite his status, continued to visit throughout his life. At that time, students, as a rule, worked in the class with one model, and Etti sometimes invited a group of sitters who were captured on canvas by all artists, moreover, often in poses from paintings by “ old masters ” ^[26] , and documented fact is that he invited models had different skin colors for contrast ^[27] . Daniel Maklis noted that “at one time, as a student, I saw how he put three or four models together. Sometimes, they were a group of graces; sometimes, a composition of two or three gladiators. Sometimes, a dark man or a yellowish woman was invited, for a picturesque contrast and fair sex ratio ” ^[27] . Executed on , “Wrestlers” were probably written in three evenings, according to prevailing habit and Etti's usual method of work. On the first evening, he outlined the figures of the model and the background with chalk or charcoal, on the second evening he painted the bodies with oil paint , and on the third evening he added a thin layer of glaze, as well as additional colors ^[22] .

In Great Britain at the beginning of the 19th century, among the artists there was a tendency to portray strong and slender men, as evidence that the best examples of British masculinity reached or exceeded the , which was considered at that time to be perfection and a role model ^[19] . Almost all artists could be expected to see copies of classical statues in British museums as part of their training, or to visit Italy and Greece to look at the originals in situ ^[28] . Etti was no exception, having made long visits to France and Italy in 1816, 1822-24 and 1830, during which he made sketches from classic paintings and statues, and in 1840 and 1841 to Belgium, where he saw Rubens’s works, which I greatly admired ^[29] . Reducing the use of manual labor and the growth of the industrial revolution have led to fears in the upper circles of British society that people will get lost, men will lose their dignified appearance, become undisciplined, as a result of which there is a demand for sports-related paintings that would motivate the viewer to achieve a physical ideal ^[30] . Thus, wrestling and boxing became popular subjects for works, and Etti wrote a number of paintings ^{[30] [31]} on these topics. As models, artists began to use boxers and fighters who possessed the strength and discipline necessary for long periods of posing in the studio ^[19] . Ettie and other British artists were well aware of the power sport technique, largely due to their acquaintance with the sculpture “ Wrestlers ” from the Uffizi , drawing of which was part of the Royal School’s compulsory program ^[19] . Sketches of this statue are found in Etti's early albums ^[32] .

At that time, the use of color models by artists was not unusual, and Etti already depicted black and Indian figures, an example of which is the picture “ The Triumph of Cleopatra ;” or “Cleopatra's Arrival in Cilicia” - The Arrival of Cleopatra in Cilicia ) ^[33] , however, the canvas, which is a large-scale image of naked black and white figures in intimate proximity, looked very unusual, and according to Sarah Victoria Turner, the only condition for its existence was the theme of the struggle ^[21] . Meanwhile, the year 1840, in which “Fighters” was written, was the year of the in London, as well as the exhibition of paintings “ ” by William Turner and “ Slave Trade ” by Francois Biard , due to which the theme of interracial relations has become a serious social and political problem ^[21] . While black wrestlers and boxers, often slaves from the United States or their descendants, looked unusual for Britain of that period ^[34] , and even after former slave won the English boxing championship in 1811, they were still viewed with suspicion by many members of the public ^[35] . It is impossible to establish why Etti decided to portray a black and white wrestler, but it is possible that he was simply interested in the contrast between the tones of the bodies, or because he saw the “primitive” black men close in spirit or physique to the wrestlers of classical civilizations ^[36] .

“Wrestlers”, with a high probability, were exhibited in June 1849 at the Royal Society of Arts in retrospective of more than 130 works by Etti, shortly before his death on November 13 of that year ^[37] . Etti named his three paintings with the word “Wrestlers”, and it is not known which of them then got to this exhibition ^[19] , although it is believed that this work was it ^[30] . No records or reviews of that time about the painting were found ^[38] , and it was probably sold to a private collector along with 800 works found in Etti's studio after his death ^{[19] [30]} . Dennis Farr, in his 1958 biography of Ettie, listing the canvases exhibited in 1849, noted them as “borrowed from C.W. Wass” ^[25] , a well-known engraver who reproduced several of Etti's works ^[39] . In connection with the death of Etti, his works began to be popular ^[40] , but soon interest in them decreased, and by the end of the 19th century the cost of all his paintings fell below their original price ^[40] , as the nude very quickly went out of fashion in Great Britain ^[41] .

October 31, 1947 "Wrestlers" were sold to a private collector, and art dealer Henry Montague Roland in the description of the work noted that on it "a half-naked old man moves forward, and another person, with a dark complexion and looking back, grabs his legs. The painting, in my opinion, not only belongs to Etti’s brush, but is actually very well written, and as an object that is completely unsuitable for trading in works of art, it can come at a very cheap price ” ^[18] . The picture was not aroused interest in commercial galleries, and was bought by the York Civil Fund for a bargain price of 30 guineas (£ 31.50 of that time, or about £ 680 as of 2015) ^{[42] [18]} . She was immediately placed in the collection , where she is currently located ^[19] . The painting was one of Ettie’s four works exhibited in the Tate Gallery in 2002, and was also the central element of a large retrospective of Ettie’s work in the York Art Gallery from 2011 to 2012 ^[43] .

• "Wrestlers" .