Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse them look like actual sculptures in the fashion they were usually depicted in the classical style. Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse is a 1784 oil painting by Joshua Reynolds. Mrs. Sarah Siddons: Sarah Siddons was a well-known actress of the 18th century who became famous for her role as Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Born Sarah Kemble, aged 18 she married William Siddons, also an actor, and they had seven children of who only two survived. Sarah's parents sent her to work as a lady's maid and with this job she was exposed to the
Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse also by the Classical subject matter of the muses from ancient Greek/Roman mythologies that numerous sculptors tried to create. Reynolds painted Siddons as Melpomene, the muse of tragedy. This work was painted when Mrs. Siddons was 28 years old and in the prime of her career. When she entered Reynolds' studio he took her by the hand and said, ""Ascend upon your undisputed throne, and graciously bestow upon me some great idea of the Tragic Muse"". Like the old masters, Reynolds signed his name secretly in the work by putting it on the gold embroidery at the hem of her