11 Works, Today, March 30th. is artist François-Léon Benouville's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #88

François-Léon Benouville (French, 1821–1859)

Portrait of Leconte de Floris in an Egyptian Army Uniform, c. 1840

Oil on canvas

52 3/4 x 35 1/2 in

The Dahesh Museum of Art

This portrait was completed by Benouville around age 19, while he was likely still a student at the École des Beaux-Arts. The sitter was one of the French military officers sent to Egypt as envoys of King Louis-Philippe to thank the Viceroy Muhammad Ali Pasha, for donating the ancient Obelisk of Rameses II, erected in Paris’s Place de la Concorde in 1836. There are two preparatory sketches in the archives of the Louvre that show the sitter wearing a large turban, which in the final painting was transformed into a large red fez. These drawings come from the notebooks of Benouville’s brother. More on this painting

François-Léon Benouville (Paris 30 March 1821 – 16 February 1859 Paris) was a French painter noted for his Neoclassical religious compositions and for painting Orientalist subjects.

François-Léon Benouville  (1821–1859)

Odaliske/ Esther, c. 1844

Oil on canvas

Height: 124 cm (48.8 in); Width: 162 cm (63.7 in)

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau

Esther is described in all versions of the Book of Esther as the Jewish queen of a Persian king Ahasuerus. In the narrative, Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, refuses to obey him, and Esther is chosen for her beauty. The king's chief adviser, Haman, is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai, and gets permission from the king to have all the Jews in the kingdom killed. Esther foils the plan, and wins permission from the king for the Jews to kill their enemies, and they do so. Her story provides a traditional background for Purim, which is celebrated on the date given in the story for when Haman's order was to go into effect, which is the same day that the Jews killed their enemies after the plan was reversed. More on Esther

Leon Benouville

Luna

Oil on canvas

I have no further description, at this time

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin luna; cf. English "lunar"). She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun, Sol, conceived of as a god.

Léon Benouville  (1860–1903)

Saint Francois d'Assise, transporté mourant à Sainte-Marie-des-Anges, bénit la ville d'Assise/ Saint Francis of Assisi, transported dying to Sainte-Marie-des-Anges, blesses the city of Assisi, Salon of 1853

Oil on canvas

Height: 91 cm (35.8 in)

Orsay museum, Paris, France

An angel gave Saint Francis the gift of the five wounds of Christ." Suffering from these stigmata and from trachoma, Francis received care in several cities to no avail. In the end, he was brought back to a hut next to the Porziuncola. Here, in the place where the Franciscan movement began, and feeling that the end of his life was approaching, he spent his last days dictating his spiritual testament. He died on the evening of Saturday, 3 October 1226. More on Saint Francis

Léon François Benouville.

Jeanne d’Arc écoutant ses voix/ Joan of Arc listening to her voices

Oil on canvas. 

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen

Joan of Arc, a peasant girl living in medieval France. At the age of 13, Joan began to hear voices, which she determined had been sent by God to give her a mission of overwhelming importance: to save France by expelling its enemies, and to install Charles as its rightful king. 

With no military training, Joan convinced the embattled crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where it achieved a momentous victory over the English and their French allies, the Burgundians. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by Anglo-Burgundian forces, tried for witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake in 1431, at the age of 19. By the time she was officially canonized in 1920, the Maid of Orléans (as she was known) had long been considered one of history’s greatest saints, and an enduring symbol of French unity and nationalism. More on Joan of Arc

Léon Benouville first studied with his elder brother, Jean-Achille Benouville (1815–1891), in the studio of François-Edouard Picot before he transferred to École des Beaux-Arts in 1837. Like his brother he received the Prix de Rome in 1845.

Francois-Léon Benouville  (1821–1859)

Martyrs chrétiens entrant à l'amphithéâtre/ Christian martyrs entering the amphitheatre, c. 1855

Oil on canvas

H. 470,0 ; L. 390,5 cm.

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

The word martyr comes from the Greek martys, meaning "witness": literally, the martyros is the one who bears witness, according to the call of Jesus in the Acts of the Apostles: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria. , and to the ends of the earth ” (Acts 1: 8). More on Christian martyrs

Christians were first targeted for persecution as a group by the emperor Nero in 64 AD. A colossal fire broke out at Rome, and destroyed much of the city. Rumours abounded that Nero himself was responsible. He took advantage of the resulting devastation of the city, building a lavish private palace on part of the site of the fire.

Perhaps to divert attention from the rumours, Nero ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed. Some were torn apart by dogs, others burnt alive as human torches.

Over the next hundred years or so, Christians were sporadically persecuted. It was not until the mid-third century that emperors initiated intensive persecutions. More on Christian prosecutions 

Both he and his brother travelled to Rome. In Rome, as a Prix de Rome pensionary at the Villa Medici. He remained there for a year, but his brother stayed on for two more years. His works produced in Rome are influenced by early Christianity and often show representations of antiquity.

Francois Léon Benouville (French, 1821–1859)

Allégorie de la chasse et de la pêche/ Allegory of hunting and fishing, c. 1856

Oil on canvas

107 x 79 cm. (42.1 x 31.1 in.)

Private collection

François-Léon Benouville

Nicolas Poussin on the Banks of the Tiber

Oil on canvas

Height: 22.7 cm (8.94 in.), Width: 39.5 cm (15.55 in.)

Amsterdam Museum

Nicolas Poussin (June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a small group of Italian and French collectors. He returned to Paris for a brief period to serve as First Painter to the King under Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, but soon returned to Rome and resumed his more traditional themes. More on Nicolas Poussin

Francois-Leon Benouville

Lavandière/ Washerwoman

Watercolor gouache

24.5 x 32.5 cm 

Private collection

Benouville was best known for his portraits, mythological and religious compositions in the Neoclassical and Orientalist style. He worked in oils, ink and chalk.

Francois-Léon Benouville  (1821–1859)

The Wrath of Achilles, c. 1847

Oil on canvas

Height: 159.5 cm (62.7 in); Width: 95 cm (37.4 in)

Fabre museum, Montpellier, France

Bénouville's painting of Achilles, a popular subject for nineteenth-century painters, shows the Greek hero at the moment where, after quarrelling with his leader, Agamemnon, he retreats from battle to his tent in a rage. Humiliated, Achilles refuses to continue fighting with the Greeks, who subsequently suffer a series of catastrophic defeats. As Agamemnon's envoys enter Achilles' tent, in the hope of convincing him to return to battle, Achilles springs to his feet, launching into a tirade. With a dramatic realism, Bénouville renders this precise, violent moment. More on The Wrath of Achilles

Francois Leon Benouville, French 1821 - 1859

Jésus dans le prétoire/ Jesus in the Praetorium, c. 1845

Oil on canvas

Orsay museum, Paris, France

In the canonical gospels, Pilate's court refers to the trial of Jesus in praetorium before Pontius Pilate, preceded by the Sanhedrin Trial. In the Gospel of Luke, Pilate finds that Jesus, being from Galilee, belonged to Herod Antipas' jurisdiction, and so he decides to send Jesus to Herod. After questioning Jesus and receiving very few replies, Herod sees Jesus as no threat and returns him to Pilate. Fearing defilement, the Jews did not enter the court, and Pilate's discussion with them occurred outside the praetorium. More on the praetorium

In 1845, Benouville, together with contemporary Alexandre Cabanel, was the recipient the Prix de Beaux Arts for his painting, Jesus at the Pretorium. More on François-Léon Benouville

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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17 Works, Today, March 29th. is artist Samuel Woodforde's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #87

Samuel Woodforde (1763-1817)

Neo-classical study of two maidens ushered into the presence of a bearded man

Brown ink and pencil on paper

6ins x 8.75ins

Private collection

Samuel Woodforde RA (29 March 1763 – 27 July 1817) was an 18th-century English painter.

Family legend suggests that he began his career by painting inn signs in the villages surrounding Ansford and Castle Cary for pocket money.

Samuel Woodforde  (1763–1817)

Lot and his Daughters (after Lagrenée), circa 1782 and circa 1785

Oil on canvas

Height: 40.6 cm (15.9 in); Width: 33 cm (12.9 in)

National Trust

Lot and his two daughters, Genesis 19:30-38,  left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”

 

That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

 

The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.

 

So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. More Lot and his two daughters

At the age of fifteen he received the patronage of the well-known banker Henry Hoare of Stourhead, Wiltshire. Many of his earlier works are preserved here. In 1782 he became a student at the Royal Academy where he exhibited pictures in 1784, 1785 and 1786.

Samuel Woodforde (1763–1817)

A Group from the Rape of the Sabines (after Nicolas Poussin), c. 1812

Oil on canvas

H 113.5 x W 109 cm

National Trust, Stourhead

According to Roman legend, as told by the writers Plutarch, Livy and Virgil, Romulus decided that, to assure the future of Rome, his warriors needed wives. He tried to negotiate marriages with an unwilling local tribe, the Sabines. He organised a festival, as a ruse, whereby his men attempted to carry off the women. This is one of two distilled compositions (The second is below) copied from the group of warrior, old man, woman and child in the right foreground of Poussin's masterpiece. More on Rape of the Sabines

Samuel Woodforde (1763–1817)

A Group from the Rape of the Sabines (after Nicolas Poussin), c. 1812

Oil on canvas

H 113.5 x W 109 cm

National Trust, Stourhead

In 1786, thanks to the continuing patronage of Henry Hoare, Samuel Woodforde travelled to Italy where he was able to study the works of Raphael and Michelangelo in Rome. He also visited Florence and Venice, and returned to London in 1791, resuming his contributions to the Royal Academy in 1792.

Samuel Woodforde (1763–1817)

'Titus Andronicus', Act II, Scene 3, Tamora, Lavinia, Demetrius and Chiron (from the Boydell series)

Oil on canvas

H 72.5 x W 58 cm

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593.

Titus, a general in the Roman army, presents Tamora, Queen of the Goths, as a slave to the new Roman emperor, Saturninus. Saturninus takes her as his wife. From this position Tamora undertakes revenge against Titus for killing her son.

To get back at Titus, she schemes with her lover Aaron to have Titus's two sons framed for the murder of Bassianus, the emperor's brother. Titus's sons are beheaded. Unappeased, she urges her sons Chiron and Demetrius to rape Titus's daughter Lavinia, after which they cut off her hands and tongue so she cannot give their crime away. Finally, even Titus's last surviving son Lucius is banished from Rome; he subsequently seeks alliance with the enemy Goths in order to attack Rome. Each new misfortune hits the aged, tired Titus with heavier impact. Eventually, he begins to act oddly and everyone assumes that he is crazy. More on Titus Andronicus

Samuel Woodforde (1763–1817)

Dorinda, Wounded by Silvio, Is Sustained by Linco, c. 1802

Oil on board

H 35.5 x W 45 cm

Royal Academy of Arts

Il pastor fido (The Faithfull Shepherd in Richard Fanshawe's 1647 English translation) is a pastoral tragicomedy set in Arcadia by Giovanni Battista Guarini, first published in 1590 in Venice.

The play unfolds a double plot. One storyline follows Silvio, who cares only for the hunt and gives no thought to love or to his impending marriage. Silvio is pursued by a nymph named Dorinda. She tries to win his love in several ways, but he scorns her affections. One day Dorinda, seeking to watch Silvio as he hunts, disguises herself as a shepherd wearing wolfskin clothes. After the hunt, she departs and lies down to rest. From a distance, Silvio mistakes her for a wolf and shoots her with an arrow. Having wounded Dorinda, Silvio is at last awakened to pity, and to love. More on Dorinda

From 1792 until 1815 he was a constant exhibitor of portraits, scenes of Italian life, historical pictures and subjects from literature. In all, he sent 133 pictures to the Royal Academy, and 39 to the British Institution. His `Dorinda wounded by Sylvia' is in the Diploma Gallery at Burlington House (See above). A watercolour `Pan teaching Apollo (1790) (See below) is in the South Kensington Museum.

Samuel Woodford (British, 1763–1817)

Pan teaching Apollo (1790)

South Kensington Museum

I have no further description, at this time

Samuel Woodford (British, 1763–1817)

A BACCHANTE, IN A WOODED LANDSCAPE , c.1788

THOUGHT TO BE LADY HAMILTON

Oil on canvas

137 x 99 cm. (53.9 x 39 in.)

Private collection

Emma, Lady Hamilton (26 April 1765; baptised 12 May 1765 – 15 January 1815) was an English model and actress, who is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of the portrait artist George Romney. More on Lady Hamilton 

In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones." Maenads were known as Bassarids, Bacchae or Bacchantes in Roman mythology, after the penchant of the equivalent Roman god, Bacchus, to wear a bassaris or fox-skin.

Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of dancing and intoxication. During these rites, the maenads would dress in fawn skins and carry a thyrsus, a long stick wrapped in ivy or vine leaves and tipped with a pine cone. They would weave ivy-wreaths around their heads or wear a bull helmet in honor of their god, and often handle or wear snakes. More Bacchante

Many of his pictures were engraved, including the forest scene in `Titus Andronicus' engraved by Anker Smith for Boydell's `Shakespeare' (1793).

Samuel Woodforde  (1763–1817)

Apollo and the Muses on Parnassus (after Raphael), c. 1804

Oil on canvas

180 × 230 cm (70.8 × 90.5 in)

National Trust, Stourhead

Mount Parnassus is a mountain in central Greece. According to Greek mythology, this mountain was sacred to Dionysus and the Dionysian mysteries; it was also sacred to Apollo and the Corycian nymphs, and it was the home of the Muses. The mountain was also favored by the Dorians. It is suggested that the name derives from parnassas, the possessive adjective of the Luwian word parna meaning house, or specifically temple, so the name effectively means the mountain of the house of the god. More on Mount Parnassus

Most of Samuel's compositions are said to be in the correct classical style of his period. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1800 and an academician in 1807.

Samuel Woodforde  (1763–1817)

 THE BENNETT FAMILY exh. 1803

Oil on canvas, 

119 × 143 (303.5 × 364.5)

Tate

The sitters are James Bennett (1745–1815), Cadbury, Somerset, and his wife Mary Clutterbuck (1762–1853) The girl with the tambourine is their eldest daughter Mary; beside her, holding a triangle, is her sister Eliza; the boy in black is the eldest son James, and the boy in red is his brother Henry. The girl sitting on the carpet is Juliana Sarah, and the child asleep on her lap is Frances Ann.

The Bennetts were an old Somersetshire family, and appear to have been at the height of their prosperity at the time of the Napoleonic wars, so that it would have been quite natural for them to order such a large family portrait. More on the Bennett

After Samuel Woodforde  (1763–1817)

The family of King Charles I, late 18th to early 19th century

Line engraving

3 7/8 in. x 5 3/4 in. (100 mm x 147 mm)

National Portrait Gallery, London

Sitters: King Charles I (1600-1649), King Charles II (1630-1685), King James II (1633-1701), Henrietta Maria (1609-1669), Queen of Charles I, Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (1631-1660)

Samuel Woodford (British, 1763--1817)

A country girl , c. 1809

Oil on canvas

76 x 64 cm (29.9 x 25.2 in)

Private collection

Samuel Woodforde (1763–1817)

A Shepherdess with a Lamb in a Storm, c. 1812

Oil on canvas

H 126.5 x W 75 cm

National Trust, Stourhead

On 7 October 1815 at Saint Bride's, Fleet Street in London, Samuel married Jane Gardner who it is assumed was one of his models and went to live in Italy. She was born in about 1794.

Samuel Woodforde (1763-1817)

The Invasion of Greece by Xerxes, 480 B.C., Circa 1800

Ink and watercolour

Private collection

These four watercolour paintings depict key moments in the Invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480 B.C.

Woodforde might have been moved to depict the subject of Xerxes after the English translation in 1791 by Rev. William Beloe of the Histories of Herodotus which gave an account of the Persian King’s invasion. Also in 1777 Robert Potter translated from the Greek the ancient play ‘The Persians’ written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC. 

Xerxes had spent years planning his invasion of Greece. It was to be his ‘divine punishment’ for his father Darius’ crushing defeat at Marathon in 490 BC. Now, a decade later, he had spared no expense in preparing a vast expeditionary force. After several years of planning, Xerxes’ huge army and navy travelled south from Sardis, through Thrace and Macedonia. More on these painting

Samuel Woodforde (1763-1817)

The Invasion of Greece by Xerxes, 480 B.C., Circa 1800

Ink and watercolour

Private collection

Samuel Woodforde (1763-1817)

The Invasion of Greece by Xerxes, 480 B.C., Circa 1800

Ink and watercolour

Private collection

Samuel Woodforde (1763-1817)

The Invasion of Greece by Xerxes, 480 B.C., Circa 1800

Ink and watercolour

Private collection

Samuel died of fever at Ferrara on 27 July 1817 leaving no children. Little is known about Jane after Samuel's death except that the Woodforde family quarrelled with her over the ownership of some of Samuel's pictures. A portrait of her by Samuel is in private ownership having been conserved through funding from the Parson Woodforde Society. More on Samuel Woodforde

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.

18 Works, Today, March 28th. is artist Jean-Paul Laurens' day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #86

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

La Mort de Tibere/ The Death of Tibere, c. 1864

Oil on canvas

Height: 177 cm (69.6 in); Width: 223 cm (87.7 in)

Georges Labit Museum, Toulouse, France

Tiberius Caesar Augustus (42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor, reigning from AD 14 to 37. He succeeded his stepfather, Augustus.

 In 26 AD he removed himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his unscrupulous Praetorian prefects Sejanus and Naevius Sutorius Macro. When Tiberius died, he was succeeded by his grand-nephew and adopted grandson, Caligula. More on Tiberius Caesar Augustus

Jean-Paul Laurens (28 March 1838 – 23 March 1921) was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style.

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

The Excommunication of Robert the Pious, c. 1875

Oil on canvas

Height: 130 cm (51.1 in); Width: 218 cm (85.8 in)

Orsay museum, Paris, France

Depicted people: Robert II of France and Bertha of Burgundy

Robert II (27 March 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious or the Wise, was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031. His 35-year-long reign was marked by his attempts to expand the royal domain by any means, especially by his long struggle to gain the Duchy of Burgundy. He was also known for his difficult marriages: he married three times, annulling two of these and attempting to annul the third, prevented only by the Pope's refusal to accept a third annulment.

He married Bertha, daughter of Conrad of Burgundy, around the time of his father's death. She was a widow of Odo I of Blois, but was also Robert's second cousin. For reasons of consanguinity, Pope Gregory V refused to sanction the marriage, and Robert was excommunicated. After long negotiations with Gregory's successor, Sylvester II, the marriage was annulled. More on Roberts II

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

Emperor Maximilian of the Mexico before the Execution, c. 1882

Oil on canvas

Height: 222 cm (87.4 in); Width: 303 cm (119.2 in)

Hermitage Museum

Maximilian I (6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who reigned as the only Emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution on 19 June 1867. More on Maximilian I

He displayed an exceptional realism and sense of drama, together with a wide erudition. His paintings, a few of which were widely published through dictionaries and school books, are inspired by scenes from mediaeval and Byzantine history (Robert the Pious's Excommunication, 1875) (See above), but also by more contemporary history (Maximilian's Last Moments, 1882) (See above).

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

The Late Empire: Emperor Honorius, c. 1880

Oil on canvas

Height: 154 cm (60.6 in); Width: 108 cm (42.5 in) 

Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, USA

Flavius Honorius (9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Arcadius, who ruled the eastern half of the empire from 395, when their father died, until his death in 408. In 410, during Honorius's reign over the western Roman Empire, Rome was sacked for the first time in almost 800 years.

Even by the standards of the rapidly declining Western Empire, Honorius's reign was precarious and chaotic. His early reign was supported by his principal general, Stilicho, who was successively Honorius's guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). More on Flavius Honorius

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

Le pape et l'inquisitor/ The Pope and the Inquisitor, also known as Sixtus IV and Torquemadac. c. 1882

Oil on canvas

Height: 113.0 cm; Width: 134.0 cm

Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux

Pope Sixtus IV (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death. His accomplishments as pope included the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Archives. A patron of the arts, he brought together the group of artists who ushered the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age.

Sixtus founded the Spanish Inquisition (1478), and he annulled the decrees of the Council of Constance. He was noted for his nepotism and was personally involved in the infamous Pazzi conspiracy. More on Pope Sixtus IV 

A devoted republican and self-declared anticlericalist, Laurens expressed his personal convictions in his subjects, castigating the excesses of hereditary political power (Le Bas Empire, Honorius, 1880) (See above) or religious fanaticism (Sixtus IV and Torquemada, 1882) (See above). His achievement as a decorator was considerable in the Pantheon, the Capitole in Toulouse, the Paris Hotel de Ville, etc. - as well as his work as an illustrator, eaux-fortes and drawings. An important figure of the artistic scene of his time, he magnificently illustrated Michelet's well-known formula: "History is a rebirth".

Arturo Montero and Calvo  (1859–1887)

Nero before the corpse of his mother, Agrippina the Younger, c. 1887

Oil on canvas

Height: 331 cm (10.8 ft); Width: 500 cm (16.4 ft)

Prado Museum

The work represents the moment when Emperor Nero , who was the last emperor of the Julia-Claudia dynasty, contemplates, along with other characters, the corpse of his mother, Agrippina the Younger , who was assassinated by his order, in 59 AD.

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

Etude de deux femmes éplorées pour le décor du Panthéon/ Study of two weeping women for the decoration of the Pantheon

Oil on canvas

7 x 275 cm. (16 x 10 7/8 in.) 

Private collection

Jean Paul Laurens (French, 1838–1921)

Portrait de fillette/ Portrait of a little girl

Oil on canvas

41 x 33 cm. (16.1 x 13 in.)

Private collection

His erudition and technical mastery were much admired in his time, but in later years his highly realistic technique, coupled to a theatrical mise-en-scène, came to be regarded by some art-historians as overly didactic. More recently, however, his work has been re-evaluated as an important and original renewal of history painting, a genre of painting that was in decline during Laurens' lifetime.

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

Sainte Geneviève à son lit de mort/ Saint Geneviève on her deathbed, between 1877 and 1880

oil on canvas

H. 65.0; L. 50.0 cm.

Orsay museum, Paris, France

St. Geneviève, (born c. 422, Nanterre, France—died c. 500, Paris), is the patron saint of Paris, who allegedly saved that city from the Huns.

When she was seven, Geneviève was induced by Bishop St. Germain of Auxerre to dedicate herself to the religious life. On the death of her parents she moved to Paris, where she was noted for her piety and acts of charity.

When Attila threatened Paris in 451, she persuaded the inhabitants to remain and pray, assuring them that the attack would be inconsequential and that they had the protection of heaven. Attila’s army went on to Orléans, 110 km (70 miles) from Paris, and was defeated. Geneviève is reported to have had great influence over King Childeric I of the Salian Franks and, in 460, to have had a church built over the tomb of St. Denis, a patron saint of France. More on St. Geneviève

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

La mort de sainte Geneviève/ The Death of Saint Geneviève, between 1877 and 1880

Oil on canvas

H. 65.1; L. 41.2 cm.

Orsay museum, Paris, France

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

The Funeral of Saint Geneviève, between 1877 and 1880

Oil on canvas

H. 65.0; L. 32.0 cm.

Orsay museum, Paris, France

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

The Death of Saint Geneviève, between 1877 and 1880

Oil on canvas

H. 65.0; L. 41.5 cm.

Orsay museum, Paris, France

Laurens was commissioned to paint numerous public works by the French Third Republic, including the steel vault of the Paris City Hall, the monumental series on the life of Saint Genevieve in the apse of the Panthéon (See above), the decorated ceiling of the Odéon Theater (See below), and the hall of distinguished citizens at the Toulouse capitol. He also provided illustrations for Augustin Thierry's Récits des temps mérovingiens ("Accounts of Merovingian Times").

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

Project for the ceiling of the Odeon Theatre

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

The Death of Galeswinthe, c. 1906

Oil on canvas

Height: 65.5 cm (25.7 in); Width: 85 cm (33.4 in)

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Galswintha (540-568 CE), or Galeswintha, was the daughter of the Visigoth king of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), and sister of Brunhilda, Queen of Austrasia (Belgium across to Germany). She married King Chilperic I, the Merovingian ruler of Neustria (northern France), in 567.

However, marriage did not suit Chilperic’s mistress, Fredegund, who arranged for Galswintha to be strangled so that she could marry the king. Galswintha’s murder caused her sister Brunhilda to make war against Chilperic, which lasted for some 40  years.

Laurens shows Galswintha lying dead. A young well-dressed woman (presumably Fredegund) views her from the foot of the bed. Just outside the room, on the other side of a drawn curtain, is a man, who looks in through a gap in that curtain. He is presumably King Chilperic waiting for his mistress to join him, now that he is a widower and free to marry her.  More on The Death of Galeswinthe

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

Saint John Chrysostom and the Empress Eudoxia, c. 1893

Oil on canvas

131,0 cm by 164,0 cm

Musée des Augustins de Toulouse, France

Aelia Eudoxia was a Roman Empress consort by marriage to the Roman Emperor Arcadius. The marriage was the source of some controversy, as it was arranged by Eutropius, one of the eunuch court officials, who was attempting to expand his influence. As Empress, she came into conflict with John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was popular among the common folk for his denunciations of imperial and clerical excess. He denounced extravagance in women’s dress, which brought him into conflict with the wife of Emperor Arcadius, Aelia Eudoxia, who considered that his criticism was aimed at herself.

She organised a synod in 403, the ‘Synod of the Oak’, to charge John, and he was deposed and banished as a result. This resulted in riots, and the mob threatened to burn the royal palace. The Emperor called for John to return, and he was reinstated. However, John then denounced as pagan the dedication ceremonies which took place when a silver statue of Eudoxia was erected near his cathedral. John was banished for a second time. More on Saint John Chrysostom and the Empress Eudoxia

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

L'Agitateur du Languedoc/ The agitator of Languedoc, c. 1887

Oil on canvas

Height: 116 cm (45.6 in); Width: 149 cm (58.6 in)

Musée des Augustins de Toulouse, France 

Bernard Délicieux (c. 1260-1270 – 1320) was a Spiritual Franciscan friar who resisted the Inquisition in Carcassonne and Languedoc region of southern France. More on Bernard Délicieux

Jean-Paul Laurence

Interrogation at the Inquisition Tribunal

Oil on canvas

83.5 x 125.5 cm

State Hermitage Museum

Jean-Paul Laurens  (1838–1921)

After the interrogation

Oil on Canvas

32.2 x 48 in. / 81.9 x 121.9 cm. 

Private collection

Laurens was highly respected teacher at the Académie Julian, Paris, and a professor at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he taught André Dunoyer de Segonzac and George Barbier. He died in Paris, aged 82. Two of his sons, Paul Albert Laurens (1870–1934) and Jean-Pierre Laurens (1875–1932), both also became painters and teachers at the Académie Julian. More on Jean-Paul Laurens and Laurence des Cars

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