A selection of masterpieces which were rejected by the person(s) who commissioned them, or from major exhibitions. Illustrated contents with links.
Girodet
Founded around 1666, the Prix de Rome was an annual contest for narrative painting. First prize was study at the French Academy in Rome.
Two portraits which were refused by their clients. One brought the painter’s revenge, the other almost proved the death of the artist.
Wonderful paintings by Reni, Fragonard, Evelyn De Morgan, Poussin, Rubens, and a very unusual late Fantin-Latour.
The use of symbols in paintings from the Renaissance to the start of the nineteenth century, with van Eyck, Rubens, Girodet, and others.
More jewels and jewellery, including a portrait of Queen Victoria, Salome, Helen of Troy, and two of Klimt’s golden girls.
Joseph-Nicolas taught his son Tony, who like his father was an academic history painter with a taste for human disasters. He also taught at the Académie Julian in Paris.
Between 1778 and 1815, many narrative painters painted stories from Ossian, based on myths claimed to have been discovered and collected by a Scottish poet, which could well be a hoax. Does it matter?
When did spiders and their webs first start appearing as motifs in paintings and prints? Who was the inspiration for Spider-Man?
Betrothed to Orestes, Hermione was forcibly removed and given to Pyrrhus. Later, Orestes murdered his mother. So why does Hermione appear in Harry Potter?
