 Of Etty 's two original works exhibited at the RA in 1830 , The Storm , inspired by Psalm 22 , attracted little interest and was dismissed by The Gentleman 's Magazine — typically a staunch supporter of Etty 's work — as " a sad failure " . The other painting exhibited was Candaules , King of Lydia , Shews his Wife by Stealth to Gyges , One of his Ministers , as She Goes to Bed , which was to prove one of the most controversial works of Etty 's career . Candaules is based on a story from Herodotus in which king Candaules arranges for his servant Gyges to spy on his wife Nyssia undressing without her knowledge . Gyges is discovered and at Nyssia 's behest kills Candaules , marries Nyssia and rules the kingdom in his stead . The painting shows the moment at which Nyssia removes the last of her clothes . By positioning the figures in such a way that none are looking out of the picture , and the viewer is directly behind Nyssia , Etty aimed for the viewer to feel the same sense of voyeurism and intrusion that Gyges would have felt , forced to spy on his master 's naked wife against his will and without her knowledge . 
