Under the Roof of Blue Ionian Weather
Oil on panel
21¾ x 47½ in. (55 x 121 cm.)
Private collection
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.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Self-Portrait, c. 1852
Leighton House Museum
In 1852 he entered the Royal Academy of Antwerp in Belgium where he studied early Dutch and Flemish art. During Alma-Tadema's four years as a registered student at the Academy, he won several respectable awards.
The Massacre of the Monks of Tamond
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, c.1855
Pencil, watercolor and gouache
I have no further description, at this time
Before leaving school, towards the end of 1855, he became assistant to the painter and professor Louis (Lodewijk) Jan de Taeye were he was encouraged to depict historical accuracy in his paintings, a trait for which the artist became known.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Education of the Children of Clovis (or School of Vengeance, or Training of Clotilde's Sons), c. 1861
Oil on canvas
51 by 70 in., 129.5 by 177.8 cm
Private collection
Alma-Tadema, moved to Antwerp in 1858, where he began working with the painter Baron Jan August Hendrik Leys, 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 laid the foundation of his fame and reputation.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
A Sculpture Gallery in Rome at the Time of Agrippa, c. 1867
Oil on canvas
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
In 1863 Alma-Tadema was married to Marie-Pauline Gressin-Dumoulin de Boisgirard. Her image appears in a number of oils, though he painted her portrait only three times, the most notable appearing in My studio (1867). The couple had three children.
Alma-Tadema and his wife spent their honeymoon in Florence, Rome, Naples and Pompeii. 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.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Egyptian chess players, c. 1879
Oil on canvas
Height: 40.5 cm (15.9 in); Width: 55.5 cm (21.8 in)
Private Collection
During the summer of 1864, Tadema met the print publisher Ernest Gambart. 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. In 1865, Tadema relocated to Brussels where he was named a knight of the Order of Leopold.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
This Is Our Corner, c. 1873
Oil on canvas
75 x 65cm / 30" x 26"
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
A double portrait of his daughters. In the foreground is Laurense, in a white dress, holding a music book. In the background is Anna is a brown and white dress, , sitting on a sofa, with her head against a blue pillow, with a open picture book on her lap
On 28 May 1869, his wife Pauline died, at the age of thirty-two, of smallpox. 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.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Cleopatra at Philae
Oil on canvas
H 149.9 x W 106.4 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum
During the summer Tadema himself began to suffer from a medical problem which doctors in Brussels were frustratingly 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. There he met Laura Theresa Epps, who was seventeen years old, and fell in love with her at first sight.
The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870 compelled Alma-Tadema to leave the continent and move to London.
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 Epps, 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.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Women of Amphissa, c. 1887
Oil on canvas Edit this at Wikidata
Height: 122.5 cm (48.2 in); Width: 184.2 cm (72.5 in)
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States
It is reported that Alma-Tadema used his second wife, Laura, as a model for this painting; but I could not find which on is Laura.
The vintage festival is set in the villa of Marcus Holconius Rufus, a prominent citizen of Pompeii at the time of that city’s destruction in AD 79. This work is one of the astonishingly vivid recreations of daily life in the ancient Roman and Greek worlds that brought the Dutch-born Alma-Tadema both critical acclaim and financial security. Alma-Tadema’s Dionysian vision of Roman splendour is a quintessential example of the archaeologically informed taste for classicism that prevailed in Victorian England. More on this painting
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.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
The vintage festival, c. 1871
Oil on wood panel
Height: 51 cm (20 in); Width: 119 cm (46.8 in)
National Gallery of Victoria
Festivals in ancient Rome were a very important part of Roman religious life. State holidays were celebrated by the Roman people and received public funding.
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 painters and it was in part due to their influence that the artist brightened his palette, varied his hues, and lightened his brushwork.
On 19 June 1879, Alma-Tadema was made a full Academician, 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.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Amo te, ama me/ I love you, love me, c. 1881
Oil on panel
Height: 17.5 cm (6.8 in); Width: 38 cm (14.9 in)
Fries Museum
In 1883 he returned to Rome and Pompeii, where further excavations had taken place since his last visit. 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.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
The Roses of Heliogabalus, c. 1888
Oil on canvas
Height: 132.1 cm (52 in); Width: 213.9 cm (84.2 in)
Collection Juan Antonio Pérez Simón, Mexico
One of his most famous paintings is The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888) – based on an episode from the life of the debauched Roman Emperor Elagabalus (Heliogabalus), the painting depicts the Emperor suffocating his guests at an orgy under a cascade of rose petals.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Unconscious Rivals, c. 1893
Oil on canvas
Height: 45.1 cm (17.7 in); Width: 62.8 cm (24.7 in) 17 3/4 × 24 5/8 inches
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, UK.
Two women seemingly waiting for someone. The anticipation is apparent on the subjects’ faces as one of them even looks bored from waiting. The painting is interpreted as two women waiting for the same lover; hence, the title. Also known as Eros, Cupid is the Roman god of love, so his presence depicts passion and desire. More on this painting
Among Alma-Tadema's works of this period are: An Earthly Paradise (1891), Unconscious Rivals (1893) Spring (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 etchings himself.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Spring, c. 1894
Oil on canvas
Height: 178.4 cm (70.2 in); Width: 80.3 cm (31.6 in)
Getty Center, Los Angeles, California
Many of the participants and spectators were modelled by Alma-Tadema's friends and members of his family. They include the bearded composer George Henschel and his daughter Helen, high on a balcony to the right. A bearded bust to the lower left may be a self-portrait of Alma-Tadema. More on this painting
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
The Colosseum, c. 1896
Oil on panel
Private collection,
The Colosseum is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, and is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world today, despite its age.
The Colosseum could hold an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators at various points of its history. It was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Roman mythology. More on the Colosseum
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912)
Caracalla and Geta, c. 1909
Oil on canvas
48 1/2 x 60 1/2 inches (123.2 x 153.7 cm)
Private collection
Caracalla and his brother, Geta, jointly inherited the throne upon their father's death. They ended the Roman invasion of Caledonia 208–210 after concluding a peace with the Caledonians that returned the border of Roman Britain to the line demarcated by Hadrian's Wall.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Preparation in the Coliseum, c. 1912
Oil, canvas
60 3/8 x 31 1/4 inches (153.5 x 79.5 cm)
Private Collection
Preparation in the Coliseum (1912) was Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s last major composition. Since the death of his wife Laura in 1909 he was broken. In June 1912 he traveled to Kaiserhof Spa in Wiesbaden with his daughter Anna. He died there before the end of the month, aged seventy-six.
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
Self-portrait, c. 1896
Oil on canvas
Uffizi
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)
The Baths at Caracalla, c. 1899
Oil on canvas
59 7/8 × 37 1/2 inches (152.3 × 95.3 cm)
Private collection
Caracalla (4 April 188 – 8 April 217), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. Caracalla's reign featured domestic instability and external invasions by the Germanic peoples. Ancient sources portray Caracalla as a tyrant and as a cruel leader.
Caracalla became known for the construction of the Baths of Caracalla which became the second-largest baths in Rome. Construction on the Baths of Caracalla began in 211 at the start of Caracalla's rule. In 216 a partial inauguration of the baths took place, but the outer perimeter of the baths was not completed until the reign of Severus Alexander. These large baths were typical of the Roman practice of building complexes for social and state activities in large densely populated cities. More on Caracalla
More than eighty years after his death Lawrence Alma-Tadema was back in vogue.
Films such as D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916), Ben Hur (1926), and Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), and Cleopatra (1934) were influenced by Alma-Tadema's work. Jessie J. Laskey, co-writer on De Mille's The Ten Commandments has described how the producer would customarily spread out prints of Alma-Tadema paintings to indicate to his set designers the look he wanted to achieve. More on Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Paintings by Lawrence Alma-Tadema
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