The fictional Marcus Sextus, Napoleon pardoning the rebels of Cairo, and Narcissus where he shouldn’t be: disinformation in history painting.
history
A series of motifs telling stories from classical mythology was completed with a breathtaking ceiling in the Sun King’s Royal Chapel at Versailles.
For the 200th anniversary of his death, a look back at paintings by this artist, a favourite of the Sun King. Here are mainly religious images.
The Prix de Rome changed in the 19th century. Its subjects became more obscure, and its successes few and far between.
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 major works in his later years: ‘Work’, showing a crowded street in Victorian London, and 12 large murals for Manchester Town Hall.
After painting his masterpiece ‘The Last of England’, he returned to landscapes made with great attention to detail, in front of the motif. And they sold.
Following the Paris Commune of 1871, history painters resorted to indirect reference in paintings of obscure episodes in mediaeval history.
From David’s history paintings of the end of the eighteenth century, the genre went from strength to strength, with major works by Goya, Géricault, and even Manet.
More extraordinary tales from French and European history told in his paintings.
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