Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, (; born Lourens Alma Tadema ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
painter who later settled in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
becoming the last officially recognised
denizen in 1873. Born in
Dronryp
Dronryp ( nl, Dronrijp) is a village in the Dutch municipality of Waadhoeke. On 1 January 2017, it had 3,281 inhabitants.
History and architecture
Before 2018, the village was part of the Menameradiel municipality. A few centuries BC, a settleme ...
, the Netherlands, and trained at the
Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, he settled in London, England in 1870 and spent the rest of his life there. A classical-subject painter, he became famous for his depictions of the luxury and
decadence
The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...
of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, with languorous figures set in fabulous marbled interiors or against a backdrop of dazzling blue
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
and sky. Alma-Tadema was considered one of the most popular Victorian painters. Though admired during his lifetime for his draftsmanship and depictions of
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
, his work fell into disrepute after his death, and only since the 1960s has it been re-evaluated for its importance within
nineteenth-century British art.
Biography
Early life
![Dronrijp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Dronrijp.D%C3%BBbelestreek.2-01.JPG)
Lourens Alma Tadema was born on 8 January 1836 in the village of
Dronryp
Dronryp ( nl, Dronrijp) is a village in the Dutch municipality of Waadhoeke. On 1 January 2017, it had 3,281 inhabitants.
History and architecture
Before 2018, the village was part of the Menameradiel municipality. A few centuries BC, a settleme ...
in the province of
Friesland
Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
in the north of the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
[Swanson, ''Alma-Tadema'', p. 8.] The surname ''Tadema'' is an old Frisian
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
, meaning 'son of Tade', while the names ''Lourens'' and ''Alma'' came from his godfather.
[Barrow, ''Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 10] He was the sixth child of Pieter Jiltes Tadema (1797–1840), the village
notary
A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems.
A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...
, and the third child of Hinke Dirks Brouwer (–1863). His father had three sons from a previous marriage. His parents' first child died young, and the second was Artje (–1876), Lourens' sister, for whom he had great affection.
The Tadema family moved in 1838 to the nearby city of
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...
, where Pieter's position as a notary would be more lucrative.
His father died when Lourens was four, leaving his mother with five children: Lourens, his sister, and three boys from his father's first marriage. His mother had artistic leanings, and decided that drawing lessons should be incorporated into the children's education. He received his first art training with a local drawing master hired to teach his older half-brothers.
It was intended that the boy would become a lawyer; but in 1851 at the age of fifteen he suffered a physical and mental breakdown. Diagnosed as
consumptive and given only a short time to live, he was allowed to spend his remaining days at his leisure, drawing and painting. Left to his own devices, he regained his health and decided to pursue a career as an artist.
Move to Belgium
In 1852 he entered the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
of
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
where he studied early Dutch and Flemish art, under
Gustaf Wappers
Egide Charles Gustave, Baron Wappers (23 August 18036 December 1874) was a Belgian painter. His work is generally considered to be Flemish and he signed his work with the Dutch form of his name, Gustaaf Wappers.Note: The painter is known by one ...
. During Alma-Tadema's four years as a registered student at the academy, he won several awards.
![Alma-Tadema The Education of the Children of Clovis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Alma-Tadema_The_Education_of_the_Children_of_Clovis.jpg)
Before leaving the academy, towards the end of 1855, he became assistant to the painter and professor Louis (Lodewijk) Jan de Taeye, whose courses in history and historical costume he had greatly enjoyed at the academy. Although de Taeye was not an outstanding painter, Alma-Tadema respected him and became his studio assistant, working with him for three years. De Taeye introduced him to books that influenced his desire to portray
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
subjects early in his career. He was encouraged to depict historical accuracy in his paintings, a trait for which the artist became known.
![Leyszaal b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Leyszaal_b.jpg)
Alma-Tadema left Taeye's studio in November 1858 returning to Leeuwarden before settling in Antwerp, where he began working with the painter Baron
Jan August Hendrik Leys
Henri Leys, Hendrik Leys or Jan August Hendrik, Baron Leys (18 February 1815 – 26 August 1869) was a Belgian painter and printmaker. He was a leading representative of the historical or Romantic school in Belgian art and became a pioneer of th ...
,
[Barrow, ''Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 15] whose studio was one of the most highly regarded in Belgium. Under his guidance Alma-Tadema painted his first major work: ''The Education of the children of Clovis'' (1861). This painting created a sensation among critics and artists when it was exhibited that year at the Artistic Congress in Antwerp. It is said to have laid the foundation of his fame and reputation.
[Swanson, '' Alma-Tadema'', p. 12.] Alma-Tadema related that although Leys thought the completed painting better than he had expected, he was critical of the treatment of marble, which he compared to cheese.
He collaborated with Hendrik Leys on the series of wall paintings in the Leys Hall on the second floor of Antwerp City Hall, which depict significant moments in the history of The Netherlands.
Alma-Tadema took this criticism very seriously, and it led him to improve his technique and to become the world's foremost painter of marble and variegated granite. Despite any reproaches from his master, ''The Education of the Children of Clovis'' was well received by critics and artists alike and was eventually purchased and subsequently given to King Leopold of Belgium.
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 16]
In 1860 he befriended the Anglo-Dutch Dommersen family of artists in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
In 1862 he made pencil drawings of Mrs. Cornelia Dommershuizen and one of her sons Thomas Hendrik, whose brothers were the painters
Pieter Cornelis Dommersen and
Cornelis Christiaan Dommersen
Cornelis Christiaan Dommersen (Dommershuijzen), ( Utrecht, 11 November 1842 – The Hague, 23 May 1928) was a Dutch painter and watercolourist. He signed his work as C.C. Dommershuizen, Chr. Dommelshuizen, Christian Dommelshuizen and C. Dommers ...
.
Early works
![Egyptian chess players](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Egyptian_chess_players.jpg)
Merovingian themes were the painter's favourite subject up to the mid-1860s. However Merovingian subjects did not have a wide international appeal, so he switched to themes of life in ancient
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, which were
more popular. In 1862 Alma-Tadema left Leys's studio and started his own career, establishing himself as a significant classical-subject European artist.
1863 was to alter the course of Alma-Tadema's personal and professional life: on 3 January his invalid mother died, and on 24 September he was married, in
Antwerp City Hall
The City Hall (Dutch: ) of Antwerp, Belgium, stands on the western side of Antwerp's Grote Markt ("Great Market Square"). Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, th ...
, to Marie-Pauline Gressin-Dumoulin de Boisgirard, the daughter of Eugène Gressin-Dumoulin, a French journalist living near
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
[Swanson, '' Alma-Tadema'', p. 13.] Nothing is known of their meeting and little of Pauline herself, as Alma-Tadema never spoke about her after her death in 1869. Her image appears in a number of oils, though he painted her portrait only three times, the most notable appearing in ''My studio'' (1867).
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 20] The couple had three children. Their eldest and only son lived only a few months dying of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
. Their two daughters,
Laurence
Laurence is an English and French given name (usually female in French and usually male in English). The English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and it originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from ...
(1865–1940) and
Anna
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
(1867–1943), both had artistic leanings: the former in literature, the latter in art. Neither would marry.
Alma-Tadema and his wife spent their honeymoon in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
and
Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
. This, his first visit to Italy, developed his interest in depicting the life of ancient Greece and Rome, especially the latter since he found new inspiration in the ruins of Pompeii, which fascinated him and would inspire much of his work in the coming decades. There he met
Geremia Discanno, an Italian painter who had been commissioned by archaeologist
Giuseppe Fiorelli
Giuseppe Fiorelli (7 June 1823 – 28 January 1896) was an Italian archaeologist. His excavations at Pompeii helped preserve the city.
Biography
Fiorelli was born on 7 June 1823 in Naples. His initial work at Pompeii was completed in 1848. He ...
to reproduce the brightly painted frescoes being uncovered in the excavations of
Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
and
Herculaneum
Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
Like the nea ...
before they faded from exposure. He would consult Discanno a number of times before Discanno's death in 1907 to ensure his paintings of antiquity would reflect the lifestyle of residents of the Greco-Roman world accurately.
During the summer of 1864, Tadema met
Ernest Gambart
Jean Joseph Ernest Theodore Gambart (12 October 1814 – 12 April 1902) was a Belgian-born English art publisher and dealer who dominated the London art world in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Life and career
Gambart was born in Kortrijk, ...
, the most influential print publisher and art dealer of the period. Gambart was highly impressed with the work of Tadema, who was then painting ''Egyptian Chess Players'' (1865). The dealer, recognising at once the unusual gifts of the young painter, gave him an order for twenty-four pictures and arranged for three of Tadema's paintings to be shown in London.
[Swanson, '' Alma-Tadema'', p. 15.] In 1865, Tadema relocated to Brussels where he was named a knight of the
Order of Leopold.
On 28 May 1869, after years of ill health, Pauline died of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
at Schaerbeek in Belgium, aged 32.
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 41] Her death left Tadema disconsolate and depressed. He ceased painting for nearly four months. His sister Artje, who lived with the family, helped with the two daughters then aged five and two. Artje took over the role of housekeeper and remained with the family until 1873 when she married.
During the summer Tadema himself began to suffer from a medical problem which doctors in Brussels were unable to diagnose. Gambart eventually advised him to go to England for another medical opinion. Soon after his arrival in London in December 1869, Alma-Tadema was invited to the home of the painter
Ford Madox Brown
Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth, Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his mos ...
. There he met
Laura Theresa Epps, who was seventeen years old, and fell in
love with her at first sight.
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 60]
Move to England
![Tepidarium Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Tepidarium_Lawrence_Alma-Tadema_%281836-1912%29.jpg)
The outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian War in July 1870 encouraged Alma-Tadema to leave the continent and move to London. His infatuation with Laura Epps played a great part in his relocation to England and in addition Gambart felt that the move would be advantageous to the artist's career. In stating his reasons for the move, Tadema simply said "I lost my first wife, a French lady with whom I married in 1863, in 1869. Having always had a great predilection for London, the only place where, up till then my work had met with buyers, I decided to leave the continent and go to settle in England, where I have found a true home."
![Lawrence Alma-Tadema by J](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Lawrence_Alma-Tadema_by_J._P._Mayall.jpg)
With his small daughters and sister Atje, Alma-Tadema arrived in London at the beginning of September 1870. The painter wasted no time in contacting Laura, and it was arranged that he would give her painting lessons. During one of these, he proposed marriage. As he was then thirty-four and Laura was now only eighteen, her father was initially opposed to the idea. Dr Epps finally agreed on the condition that they should wait until they knew each other better. They married in July 1871. Laura, under her married name, also won a high reputation as an artist, and appears in numerous of Alma-Tadema's canvases after their marriage (''The Women of Amphissa'' (1887) being a notable example). This second marriage was enduring and happy, though childless, and Laura became stepmother to Anna and Laurence. Anna became a painter and Laurence became a novelist.
In England he initially adopted the name ''Laurence Alma Tadema'' instead of ''Lourens Alma Tadema'' and later used the more English spelling ''Lawrence'' for his forename. He also incorporated ''Alma'' into his surname so that he appeared at the beginning of exhibition catalogues, under "A" rather than under "T".
He did not actually hyphenate his last name, but it was done by others and this has since become the convention.
[Ash, ''Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p.3.]
Victorian painter
![The Roses of Heliogabalus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/The_Roses_of_Heliogabalus.jpg)
After his arrival in England, where he was to spend the rest of his life, Alma-Tadema's career was one of continued success. He became one of the most famous and highly paid artists of his time, acknowledged and rewarded. By 1871 he had met and befriended most of the major
Pre-Raphaelite
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
painters and it was in part due to their influence that the artist brightened his palette, varied his hues, and lightened his brushwork.
In 1872 Alma-Tadema organised his paintings into an identification system by including an opus number under his signature and assigning his earlier pictures numbers as well. ''Portrait of my sister, Artje'', painted in 1851, is numbered opus I, while two months before his death he completed ''Preparations in the Coliseum'', opus CCCCVIII. Such a system made it more difficult for fakes to be passed off as originals.
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 62]
In 1873
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
in Council by
letters patent
Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...
made Alma-Tadema and his wife what are still up to the present time the last British
Denizens created (the legal process has theoretically not yet been abolished in the United Kingdom), with some limited special rights otherwise only accorded to and enjoyed by British subjects (that is, those would now be called British citizens). The previous year he and his wife made a journey on the continent that lasted five and a half months and took them through Brussels, Germany, and Italy. In Italy Alma-Tadema was able to take in the ancient ruins again; this time he purchased several photographs, mostly of the ruins, which began his immense collection of folios with archival material used in the completion of future paintings. In January 1876, he rented a studio in Rome. The family returned to London in April, visiting the Parisian Salon on their way back. In London he regularly met with fellow-artist
Emil Fuchs.
[Quoted on Tate website:]
Ronald Alley, ''Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists'', Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, pp.227–8
Among the most important of his pictures during this period was ''An Audience at Agrippa's'' (1876). When an admirer of the painting offered to pay a substantial sum for a painting with a similar theme, Alma-Tadema simply turned the emperor around to show him leaving, in ''After the Audience''.
On 19 June 1879, Alma-Tadema was made a
Royal Academician
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
, his most personally important award. Three years later, a major retrospective of his entire oeuvre was organised at the Grosvenor Gallery in London, including 185 of his pictures.
In 1883 he returned to Rome and, most notably, Pompeii, where further excavations had taken place since his last visit. He spent a significant amount of time studying the site, going there daily. These excursions gave him an ample source of subject matter as he began to further his knowledge of daily Roman life. At times, however, he integrated so many objects into his paintings that some said they resembled museum catalogues.
One of his most famous paintings is ''
The Roses of Heliogabalus
''The Roses of Heliogabalus'' is an 1888 painting by the Anglo-Dutch artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema depicting the young Roman emperor Elagabalus (203–222 AD) hosting a banquet.
Subject
The painting measures . It shows a group of Roman diners ...
'' (1888) – based on an episode from the life of the debauched
Roman emperor Elagabalus
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...
(Heliogabalus), the painting depicts the emperor suffocating his guests at an orgy under a cascade of rose
petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s. The blossoms depicted were sent weekly to the artist's London studio from the French Riviera for four months during the winter of 1887–1888.
Among Alma-Tadema's works of this period are: ''An Earthly Paradise'' (1891), ''Unconscious Rivals'' (1893) ''
Spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
'' (1894), ''The Coliseum'' (1896) and ''The Baths of Caracalla'' (1899). Although Alma-Tadema's fame rests on his paintings set in antiquity, he also painted portraits, landscapes and watercolours, and made some
etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s himself (although many more were made of his paintings by others).
Personality
![Alma Tadema Spring](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Alma_Tadema_Spring.jpg)
For all the quiet charm and erudition of his paintings, Alma-Tadema himself preserved a youthful sense of mischief. He was childlike in his practical jokes and in his sudden bursts of bad temper, which could as suddenly subside into an engaging smile.
In his personal life, Alma-Tadema was an extrovert and had a remarkably warm personality.
[Swanson, '' Alma-Tadema'', p. 35.] He had most of the characteristics of a child, coupled with the traits of a consummate professional. A perfectionist, he remained in all respects a diligent, if somewhat obsessive and pedantic worker. He was an excellent businessman, and one of the wealthiest artists of the nineteenth century. Alma-Tadema was as firm in money matters as he was with the quality of his work.
[Swanson, ''Alma-Tadema'', p. 34.]
As a man, Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a robust, fun loving and rather portly gentleman. There was not a hint of the delicate artist about him; he was a cheerful lover of wine, women, and parties.
Later years
Alma-Tadema's output decreased with time, partly on account of health, but also because of his obsession with decorating his new home, to which he moved in 1883. Nevertheless, he continued to exhibit throughout the 1880s and into the next decade, receiving a plentiful amount of accolades along the way, including the medal of Honour at the
Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889, election to an honorary membership of the Oxford University Dramatic Society in 1890, and the Great Gold Medal at the
International Exposition in Brussels of 1897. In 1899 he was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in England, only the eighth artist from the Continent to receive this honour. Not only did he assist with the organisation of the British section at the
1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, he also exhibited two works that earned him the Grand Prix Diploma. He also assisted with the
St. Louis World's Fair of 1904 where he was well represented and received.
![Portrait of Lawrence Alma-Tadema](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Portrait_of_Lawrence_Alma-Tadema.jpg)
During this time, Alma-Tadema was very active with theatre design and production, designing many costumes. He also spread his artistic boundaries and began to design furniture, often modelled after Pompeian or Egyptian motifs, illustrations, textiles, and frame making. In late 1902 he visited Egypt. These other interests influenced his paintings, as he often incorporated some of his furniture designs into the composition, and he also used many of his own designs for the clothing of his female subjects. Through his last period of creativity Alma-Tadema continued to produce paintings which repeated the successful formula of women on marble terraces overlooking the sea such as in ''Silver Favourites'' (1903).
[Barrow, ''Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 179] Between 1903 and his death, Alma-Tadema painted less but still produced ambitious paintings such as ''
The Finding of Moses'' (1904).
[Barrow, ''Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 186]
On 15 August 1909 Alma-Tadema's wife, Laura, died at the age of fifty-seven. The grief-stricken widower outlived his second wife by less than three years. His last major composition was ''Preparation in the Coliseum'' (1912). In the summer of 1912, Alma-Tadema was accompanied by his daughter Anna to Kaiserhof Spa,
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, Germany, where he was to undergo treatment for ulceration of the stomach.
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 194] He died there on 28 June 1912 at the age of seventy-six. He was buried in the crypt of
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
in London.
Style
![Silver Favourites, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Silver_Favourites%2C_by_Lawrence_Alma-Tadema.jpg)
Alma-Tadema's works are remarkable for the way in which flowers, textures and hard reflecting substances, like metals, pottery, and especially marble, are painted – indeed, his realistic depiction of marble led him to be called the 'marbellous painter'. His work shows much of the fine execution and brilliant colour of the old Dutch masters.
From early in his career, Alma-Tadema was particularly concerned with architectural accuracy, often including objects that he saw at museums – such as the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in London – in his works. He also read many books and took many images from them. He amassed an enormous number of photographs from ancient sites in Italy, which he used to achieve the most precise accuracy in the detail of his compositions.
Alma-Tadema was a perfectionist. He worked assiduously to make the most of his paintings, often repeatedly reworking parts of paintings before he found them satisfactory to his own high standards. One story relates that one of his paintings was rejected and instead of keeping it, he gave the canvas to a maid who used it as her table cover. He was sensitive to every detail and architectural line of his paintings, as well as the settings he was depicting. For many of the objects in his paintings, he would depict what was in front of him, using fresh flowers imported from across the continent and even from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, rushing to finish the paintings before the flowers died. It was this commitment to veracity that earned him recognition but also caused many of his critics to adopt negative attitudes towards his almost encyclopaedic works.
Alma-Tadema's work has been linked with that of European Symbolist painters.
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 192] As an artist of international reputation, he can be cited as an influence on European figures such as
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...
and
Fernand Khnopff
Fernand Edmond Jean Marie Khnopff (12 September 1858 – 12 November 1921) was a Belgian symbolist painter.
Life Youth and training
Fernand Khnopff was born to a wealthy family that was part of the high bourgeoisie for generations. Khnopf ...
.
Both painters incorporate classical motifs into their works and use Alma-Tadema's unconventional compositional devices such as abrupt cut-off at the edge of the canvas. They, like Alma-Tadema, also employ coded imagery to convey meaning in their paintings.
Reputation
![Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema - The finding of Moses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Sir_Lawrence_Alma-Tadema_-_The_finding_of_Moses.jpg)
Alma-Tadema was considered one of the most popular Victorian painters. He was among the most financially successful painters of the Victorian era, though never matching
Edwin Henry Landseer
Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...
. For over sixty years he gave his audience exactly what they wanted: distinctive, elaborate paintings of beautiful people in classical settings. His detailed reconstructions of ancient Rome, with languid men and women posed against white marble in dazzling sunlight provided his audience with a glimpse of a world of the kind they might one day construct for themselves at least in theory if not in reality. As with other painters, the
reproduction rights for prints were often worth more than the canvas, and a painting with its rights still attached may have been sold to Gambart for £10,000 in 1874; without rights it was sold again in 1903, when Alma-Tadema's prices were actually higher, for £2,625. Typical prices were between £2,000 and £3,000 in the 1880s, but at least three works sold for between £5,250 and £6,060 in the 1900s. Prices held well until the general collapse of Victorian prices in the early 1920s, when they fell to the hundreds, where they remained until the 1960s; by 1969 £4,600 had been reached again (although the effect of inflation must be allowed for with these figures).
The last years of Alma-Tadema's life saw the rise of
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...
,
Fauvism
Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...
,
Cubism
Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...
and
Futurism
Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
, all of which he disapproved of. As his pupil
John Collier wrote, 'it is impossible to reconcile the art of Alma-Tadema with that of
Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
,
Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetism, Synthetist style that were d ...
and
Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
.'
[Swanson, '' Alma-Tadema'', p. 43.]
His artistic legacy almost vanished. As attitudes of the public in general and the artists in particular became more sceptical of the possibilities of human achievement, his paintings were increasingly denounced. He had been declared "the worst painter of the 19th century" by
John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
, and one critic even remarked that his paintings were "about worthy enough to adorn bourbon boxes". After this brief period of being actively derided, he was consigned to relative obscurity for many years. Only since the 1960s has Alma-Tadema's work been re-evaluated for its importance within the nineteenth century, and more specifically, within the evolution of English art.
He is now regarded as one of the principal classical-subject painters of the nineteenth century whose works demonstrate the care and exactitude of an era mesmerised by trying to visualise the past, some of which was being recovered through archaeological research.
Alma-Tadema's meticulous archaeological research, including research into Roman architecture, led to his paintings being used as source material by Hollywood directors in their vision of the ancient world for films such as
D. W. Griffith's ''
Intolerance
Intolerance may refer to:
* Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...
'' (1916), ''
Ben Hur'' (1926), ''
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
'' (1934), and most notably of all,
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
's epic remake of ''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
'' (1956).
Indeed,
Jesse Lasky Jr.
Jesse Louis Lasky Jr. (September 19, 1910 – April 11, 1988) was an American screenwriter, novelist, playwright and poet.
Early life
He was the son of film producer Jesse Lasky Sr. and his wife, Bessie Ida Ginsberg. Lasky was born on Broadway ...
, the co-writer on ''The Ten Commandments'', described how the director would customarily spread out prints of Alma-Tadema paintings to indicate to his set designers the look he wanted to achieve. The designers of the Oscar-winning Roman epic ''
Gladiator
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
'' used the paintings of Alma-Tadema as a central source of inspiration.
[Barrow, '' Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', p. 197] Alma-Tadema's paintings were also the inspiration for the design of the interior of Cair Paravel castle in the 2005 film ''
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''.
In 1962, New York art dealer
Robert Isaacson mounted the first show of Alma-Tadema's work in fifty years;
[''An Exhibition to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Death of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1836–1912''. New York: Robert Isaacson Gallery, 1962.] by the late 1960s, the revival of interest in Victorian painting gained impetus, and a number of well-attended exhibitions were held.
[Swanson, '' Alma-Tadema'', p. 62.] Allen Funt
Allen Albert Funt (September 16, 1914 – September 5, 1999) was an American television producer, director, writer and television personality best known as the creator and host of '' Candid Camera'' from the 1940s to 1980s, as either a regula ...
, the creator and host of the American version of the television show ''
Candid Camera
''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...
'', was a collector of Alma-Tadema paintings at a time when the artist's reputation in the 20th century was at its nadir;
[Swanson, ''Alma-Tadema'', p. 58.] in a relatively few years he bought 35 works, about ten percent of Alma-Tadema's output. After Funt was robbed by his accountant (who subsequently committed suicide), he was forced to sell his collection at Sotheby's in London in November 1973.
[Swanson, ''Alma-Tadema'', p. 59.] From this sale, the interest in Alma-Tadema was re-awakened.
In 1960, the Newman Gallery firstly tried to sell, then give away (without success) one of his most celebrated works, ''
The Finding of Moses'' (1904). The initial purchaser had paid £5,250 for it on its completion, and subsequent sales were for £861 in 1935, £265 in 1942, and it was "bought in" at £252 in 1960 (having failed to meet its reserve), but when the same picture was auctioned at Christies in New York in May 1995, it sold for £1.75 million. On 4 November 2010 it was sold for $35,922,500 to an undisclosed bidder at
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
New York, a new record both for an Alma-Tadema work and for a Victorian painting. On 5 May 2011, ''The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra: 41 BC'' was sold at the same auction house for $29.2 million.
Alma-Tadema's ''The Tepidarium'' (1881) is included in the 2006 book ''1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die''. Julian Treuherz, Keeper of Art Galleries at
National Museums Liverpool
National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...
, describes it as an "exquisitely painted picture..." which "carries a strong erotic charge, rare for a Victorian painting of the nude".
A
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
unveiled in 1975 commemorates Alma-Tadema at 44 Grove End Road,
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...
, his home from 1886 until his death in 1912.
Archives
The Cadbury Research Library at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
holds several archive collections relating to Alma-Tadema, including letters, artwork and photography.
Gallery
File:Fredegund by the Deathbed of Bishop Praetextatus.jpg, ''Fredegund
Fredegund or Fredegunda (Latin: ''Fredegundis''; French: ''Frédégonde''; died 8 December 597) was the Queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons. Fredegund served as regent during the minority of her son Chlo ...
by the Deathbed of Bishop Praetextatus'', 1864, Pushkin Museum
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...
File:Löwenstam.jpg, The etcher and printmaker Léopold Lowenstam (1842–1898), a friend and colleague of Lawrence Alma-Tadema
File:Alma-Tadema The-flower-market-1868.jpg, Flower market in Roman times, with a cactus and two agaves (an anachronism
An anachronism (from the Ancient Greek, Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronology, chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time per ...
, as they are originally American plants), 1868, Manchester Art Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...
File:A Dedication to Bacchus.jpg, ''A Dedication to Bacchus'', 1889, Kunsthalle Hamburg
The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the art museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the largest art museums in the country. The museum consists of three connected buildings, dating from 1869 (main building), 1921 (Kuppelsaa ...
File:Lawrence Alma-Tadema - Portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...
'', 1891, Oil on canvas, 45.7 × 58.4 cm, National Museum, Warsaw
The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art ( Eg ...
. In his portraits he employed psychological realism to reveal the sitter's personality.
File:An eloquent silence, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema.jpg, ''An Eloquent Silence'', 1890
File:Women_of_Amphissa.jpg, ''The Women of Amphissa'', 1887, Clark Art Institute
The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European and American paintings, sculp ...
File:Music cabinet by Lawrence Alma-Tadema.jpg, Music cabinet designed by Alma-Tadema, 1884–85
See also
*
John William Godward
John William Godward (9 August 1861 – 13 December 1922) was an English painter from the end of the Neo-Classicist era. He was a protégé of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, but his style of painting fell out of favour with the rise of modern ...
References and sources
Notes
References
Sources
*
Ash, Russell: ''Alma-Tadema'', Shire Publications, Aylesbury, 1973,
*
Ash, Russell: ''Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', Pavilion Books, London, 1989, ; Harry N. Abrams Inc. New York, 1990,
*
Barrow, Rosemary: ''Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', Phaidon Press Inc, 2001,
* Calinski, Tobias:
Catull in Bild und Ton – Untersuchungen zur Catull-Rezeption in Malerei und Komposition', WBG, Darmstadt 2021
*
Reitlinger, Gerald; ''The Economics of Taste, Vol I: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices 1760–1960'', Barrie and Rockliffe, London, 1961
* Swanson, Vern G :
Alma-Tadema: The Painter of the Victorian Vision of the Ancient World', Ash & Grant, London, 1977, ; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1977,
* Swinglehurst, Edmund: ''Lawrence Alma-Tadema'', Thunder Bay Press, Canada, 2001, (NOTE: the illustration of ''The Roses of Heliogabalus'' in this book is printed the wrong way round!)
External links
*
*
Global Gallery Bio & Works218 works by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tademaat alma-tadema.org
Lourens Alma Tadema artworks (paintings, watercolours, drawings), biography, information and signaturesat
ArtCyclopedia
Artcyclopedia is an online database of museum-quality fine art founded by Canadian John Malyon.
Information
The Artcyclopedia only deals with art that can be viewed online, and indexes 2,300 art sites (from museums and galleries), with links to a ...
Works by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tademain the collection of the Walters Art Museum
Alma-Tadema at MuseumSyndicatein "History of Art"
A video discussion about the painting from Smarthistory at
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2008 by Sal Khan. Its goal is creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short lessons in the form of videos. Its website also in ...
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alma-Tadema, Lawrence, Sir
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Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...