Dibutades was the daughter of a potter in ancient Corinth, a city in Greece whose wares first helped to establish the fame of Greek pottery. Hoping to keep a record of her boyfriend, who was departing the city, Dibutades traced the outline of his shadow on a wall while he slept. Her father filled in this silhouette with clay and fired it in his kiln. It became the first relief sculpture.

The figure of the youth is modeled after a sleeping Endymion that Joseph Wright of Derby, England, had drawn from a relief in Rome. He spent nearly two years there, recording ancient monuments and sculpture in his sketchbooks. The sparse furnishings, garments, and even the woman’s hairstyle are all based on archaeological evidence. The figures are arranged with a carefully measured rhythm along a narrow stage, as in a frieze or vase painting. A master of artificial illumination, Wright concealed a hanging lamp behind the curtain, suggesting the source of the beams that cast the youth’s shadow.

The painting was commissioned by Josiah Wedgwood, a pioneer of pottery manufacturing in England. His pottery copied the shapes of ancient vessels as well as their decoration, borrowing motifs from ancient glass, cameos, and relief carvings. Wedgwood’s fired clay vessels, decorated with low reliefs, can be seen as the descendents of Dibutades’ first relief sculpture.

Discussion Questions:

• What moment of the story has Wright depicted? (When Dibutades draws the outline of her boyfriend on a wall.) What will happen next? How do you think the boyfriend felt when he awoke and saw that a relief of him had been made?
• How does the artist use light and shadow to focus your attention on the action? (Highlights on the face of the youth and on Dibutades as she draws help to bring the two figures out of the dark background.)
• The origin of what art form is explained by this story? (Relief sculpture.) On what objects do you see relief sculptures everyday? (On coins, the profiles of the presidents are raised reliefs.)
• In this and many other representations of the same story, the young man is shown with a dog. Dogs are often used as symbols of faithfulness. Why might Wright have included a dog in this painting? After all, the dog isn’t doing much but sleeping.
• If someone you cared for was leaving, what about him or her would you want to remember the most? His or her looks, his or her personality? What are some character traits of a good friend? Honesty? Faithfulness? Respect?