3-043-801 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

"The Siren and the Drowned Leander," by J. Durham, A.R.A., exhibition of the Royal Academy, 1872. 'Mr. J. Durham, A.R.A., the distinguished sculptor of this group, exhibits two plaster models of it, preparatory to its execution in marble - the one in the Royal Academy, the other in the International Exhibition. The conception is founded on the late legend that one of the Sirens became enamoured of Leander, on seeing him swim the Hellespont to Hero, and evoked the storm that drowned him. Hood tells the story pathetically in one of his poems, from which the sculptor quotes the following lines: "Here he lies, his head across my knees, And lips more chilly than the chilly waves. She says 'tis love hath bribed her to this deed, The glancing of his eye did so bewitch her; Oh, bootless theft! unprofitable meed! Love's treasury is sack'd, but she no richer".' From "Illustrated London News", 1872.