Artwork
The Midwife Taking Leave of the girl from Andros. From Terence´s Andria
The Midwife Taking Leave of the girl from Andros. From Terence´s Andria is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Nicolai Abildgaard. It dates from 1801 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1801 by Danish painter Nicolai Abildgaard, this oil work illustrates a moment from Terence’s comedy *Andria*. It shows a midwife parting from a young woman from Andros, set within an architectural backdrop that includes columns, a statue, and a distant carriage. The composition is held in the Statens Museum for Kunst.
Subject & Meaning
The narrative captures the departure of a midwife after assisting the Andrian girl, a scene drawn from the Roman playwright’s text. The figures—midwife in a brown robe, the girl in white with a green shawl, and a man in blue and yellow—suggest a ritual of care and transition, underscored by the presence of domestic animals and a carriage that hint at everyday life beyond the immediate encounter.
Technique & Style
Abildgaard employs a restrained neoclassical palette, emphasizing clear lines and balanced forms. Chiaroscuro modeling gives the midwife’s robe depth against a lighter background, while the architectural elements provide linear perspective. The careful rendering of fabric and the subtle atmospheric sky reflect the academic training of the artist.
History & Provenance
The painting entered the collection of Denmark’s national gallery, Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on view. As a work by a professor of the Royal Danish Academy, it exemplifies the institution’s promotion of classical subjects and disciplined technique during the early nineteenth century.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen…
The Wounded Philoctetes
Frederik II Builds Kronborg Castle at Elsinore
Frederik II Builds Kronborg Castle at Elsinore
Magnus Stenbock Surrenders the Fortress of Tønningen to Frederik IV in 1714
Christian V Presents Danish Law 1683
Christian VII Uniting the Ducal with the Royal Part of Holstein in 1767
Thetis Immersing her Infant Son Achilles in the River Styx to Make him Invulnerable
Christian IV Aboard his Flagship "The Trinity"
The Midwife Taking Leave of the girl from Andros. From Terence´s Andria
The girl from Andros
Simo and his former slave Sosia. From Terence´s Andria.
The Slave Davus and the Maid Mysis. From Terence´s Andria.
The Slave Davus and the Maid Mysis. From Terence´s Andria.
Simo and his former slave Sosia. From Terence´s Andria.
Pamphilius and his sevant Davus. From Terence´s Andria
Pamphilius and his sevant Davus. From Terence´s Andria