The Wrestlers (Etty)

The Royal Academy had moved to new premises in Trafalgar Square in 1837, and the studio used by the life class was cramped and hot, a fact thought to account for the sweatiness of the central figures.

Etty in this period was generally making a conscious effort to illustrate moral lessons in his work, and it is not clear whether he chose the topic as a form of social commentary or simply because the contrast between the black and white flesh tones was visually striking.

William Etty (1787–1849), the seventh son of a York baker and miller,[3] had originally been an apprentice printer in Hull,[4] but on completing his seven-year apprenticeship in 1805 moved to London to become an artist.

[7] Strongly influenced by the works of Titian and Rubens, Etty became famous for painting nude figures in biblical, literary and mythological settings.

[9] Many of his peers greatly admired his work, and in February 1828 he defeated John Constable by 18 votes to five to become a full Royal Academician,[10] at the time the highest honour available to an artist.

[12] Etty was the first British artist to specialise in the nude, and the prurient reaction of the lower classes to these paintings caused concern throughout the 19th century.

[16] The intense light casts deep shadows, emphasising the curves and musculature of the wrestlers' bodies,[18] as the skin of the two combatants is stretched and distorted under the pressure of the grapple.

Art historian Sarah Victoria Turner speculates that this is not simply for dramatic effect, but reflects the fact that after the Royal Academy's 1837 move to its new building in Trafalgar Square the studio used by the life class was a cramped and poorly ventilated room lit by gaslight, which when crowded with students and with the lights on could become extremely hot.

[16] Almost all artists, as part of their training, would be expected to draw from reproductions of classical statues in British museums, or to visit Italy and Greece to view the originals in situ.

[26] Moreover, as the Industrial Revolution took hold and the prevalence of manual labour declined, there were increasing concerns that British men would become unfit and undisciplined; images of sport and combat were thought to motivate the viewer to aspire to an ideal of physical strength which people were worried was becoming lost.

[27][28] It had become common for artists to use boxers and soldiers as models, as they had the strength and bearing considered desirable, and the discipline to hold a pose for long periods in the studio.

[30] Sarah Victoria Turner argues that combat was the only subject in which it would have been felt appropriate at the time to depict naked black and white figures in intimate closeness.

Owing to its subject matter there was little interest from commercial galleries, and it was bought by York Civic Trust for the bargain price of 30 guineas (£31.50; about £960 in 2025 terms[G]).