From cautionary tales for judges to Daumier’s wicked satire, courts of law have been an important theme for the artist, including Poussin, Rowlandson, and Gérôme.
David
He established the unique regime and society of Sparta, with communal meals, harsh selection of newborn babies, and devotion to the state. He enforced those with selfless ingenuity.
How could I follow my 85-part account of Ovid’s Metamorphoses? With the greatest collection of biographies of classical figures, an inspiration to Charlotte Corday herself.
In which Romulus, as the founder of the city of Rome, successfully defends the city against the Sabines, before his apotheosis, and that of his Sabine wife, Hersilia.
Most famously painted by David, the murder of Marat in his bath in 1793 has featured in many paintings. How has its interpretation changed with changing politics and public opinion?
Ovid’s fictional letter made it clear how the legend of Phaon was absurd. Yet it has been painted repeatedly ever since.
Was she abducted, seduced, or seducer? Victim or whore? Ovid’s pair of letters between Helen and Paris raises questions which many artists have tried to tackle.
He was remarkably successful, a truly self-made artist, who rose from nothing to international renown. But did he ‘occasion a revolution in the art’?
Admiral Lord Nelson died in similar circumstances to General Wolfe – leading his force to victory, although here at sea in the Battle of Trafalgar. Cue for a ‘modern history painting’.
The ‘thousand ships’ of the Greek forces are gathered at Aulis, waiting for fair winds. A sign tells them how long the war against Troy will last, but they have to do something horrific first.
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