Monday 6 May 2013

Lawrence Alma-Tadema – part 1


Self-Portrait 1852 ( aged approx 16 ) 
oil on canvas 55.9 x 48.3 cm
Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836 – 1912) was born Laurens Tadema in Dronrijp, Holland in 1836. In 1852 he became a student at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, where he studied under a number of noted practitioners of the Romantic school. At this time his interest in the Ancient World and archaeology came about, and became the driving force in his whole artistic career.

In 1862 he visited London for the first time, where he saw and was impressed by the Elgin Marbles, as well as some ancient Egyptian artefacts. In 1863 he married Pauline Gressin de Boisgirard, and they honeymooned in Italy, a magnet for aspiring artists of the time.

On returning from Italy the couple moved to Paris, where Tadema met the celebrated art dealer Gambert, who quickly realised the potential of his young Dutch friend. At around this time the painter produced a number of pictures featuring his wife as a model. Pauline died in 1869. At around this time, helped by the connections of Gambert, Tadema's paintings started to attract attention in London. This was followed by a move to London in 1870.

In London he took pupils whilst he established himself, and in 1871 he married his seventeen year old pupil Laura Epps, daughter of a prosperous doctor who was also an international merchant.



Portrait of Miss Laura Epps c1871 
oil on canvas 51 x 41 cm

Around this time Laurens Tadema beacme Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a change which shrewdly moved his name forward in catalogues and exhibitions. He also became a naturalised British Subject. He started to become both commercially and critically successful, with John Ruskin one of the few dissenters. 

The Tademas also became well known on the social circuit, shrewdly associating with the wealthy upper middle class society from which his major clients were drawn. In 1883 the family moved from Regents Park to the house in St John’s Wood formerly occupied by Tissot and his mistress Kathleen Newton. Here they held the famous ‘At Homes,’ which were to become a feature of London Society.


Alma-Tadema in his London studio

Interior 'Hall of Panels'

The Tademas loved music, which was part of these evenings, and among the guests were Paderewski and Tchaikovsky. Other notable guests included the Prince of Wales and Tadema's great friend Frederic, Lord Leighton, President of the Royal Academy. The house was much extended and featured a magnificent studio with a dome and gallery.
In 1899 Tadema was knighted in the special Birthday Honours List to celebrate the 80th birthday of Queen Victoria. In 1902 Tadema was created a member of the Order of Merit. By 1905 the critical reputation of the artist had started to decline.

 
Tadema continued to paint, but his output decreased, and he died at the Spa in the German town of Weisbaden in June 1912. He left a considerable sum of money to the Royal Academy. 

This is part 1 of a 3-part post on the works of Lawrence Alma-Tadema:

1854 Mary Magdalene 
oil on paper mounted on panel 31 x 35 cm

1856 The Blind Beggar 
oil on canvas 63.5 x 54 cm

1857 Faust and Marguerite 
watercolour 45.2 x 50.1 cm

1859 The Sad Father 
oil on canvas 68.6 x 86.4 cm

1859-69c Crossing of the River Berizina, 1812 
oil on canvas 39 x 73 cm

1860 The Death of Hippolytus 
oil on canvas

1860s-70s Standing Roman 
pen and ink, brush and wash 26.6 x 18 cm

1861 Egyptian Chess Players 
oil on wood 39.8 x 55.8 cm

1861 The Education of the Children of Clovis 
oil on canvas 127 x 176.8 cm

1861 The Roman Wine Tasters 
oil on canvas

1862 Venantius Fortunatus Reading His Poems to Radegonda VI, AD 555 
oil on canvas 65 x 83.1 cm

1863 Interior of the Church of San Clemente, Rome 
oil on canvas 63.5 x 51 cm

1863 Pastimes in Ancient Egypt, 3,000 Years Ago 
oil on canvas 99.1 x 135.8 cm

1864 Leaving Church in the Fifteenth Century 
oil on canvas 57.1 x 39.4 cm

1865 Catullus at Lesbia's 
oil on wood 39.5 x 54.5 cm

1865 Egyptian Chess Players 
oil on wood 39.8 x 55.8 cm

1865 Gallo-Roman Women 
oil on canvas 80.6 x 101.6 cm

1866 A Picture Gallery 
oil on canvas

1867 A Collector of Pictures at the Time of Augustus 
oil on wood 71 x 46.4 cm

1874 The Picture Gallery 
oil on canvas 219.7 x 166 cm

1866 Entrance to a Roman Theatre 
oil on canvas 70.4 x 98.4 cm

1866 In the Peristylum 
oil on canvas


1866 Lesbia Weeping over a Sparrow

1866 Preparations for the Festivities 
oil on canvas

1866 Tibullus at Delia's 
oil on wood 43.9 x 66 cm

1867 A Sculpture Gallery in Rome at the Time of Augustus 
oil on wood 62.2 x 46.9 cm

1867 Claudius Summoned to the Imperial Throne 
oil on wood 40.6 x 58.4 cm

1867 Glaucus and Nydia 
oil on wood 39 x 64.3 cm

1867 My Studio 
oil on wood 42.1 x 54 cm

1867 Proclaiming Claudius Emperor, Pous XLVIII 
oil on wood 47 x 61 cm

1867 Tarquinius Superbus 
oil on wood

1868 Portrait of Mme. Bonnefoy and M. Puttemans

1868 A Roman Art Lover 
oil on wood 53.3 x 80 cm

1868 Boating 
oil on canvas 82.5 x 56.3 cm


1868 Pheidias and the Frieze of the Parthenon, Athens 
oil on wood 72 x 110.5 cm

1868 The Education of the Children of Clovis 
oil on canvas 127 x 176.8 cm

1868 The Flower Market 
oil on wood 42.1 x 58 cm

1868 The Honeymoon 
oil on wood

1868 A Scene from Pompeii / The Siesta 
oil on canvas 130 x 360 cm

1868 A Scene from Pompeii / The Siesta 
oil on canvas 130 x 360 cm

1868 Woman and Flowers 
oil on panel 49.8 x 37.2 cm

1868-69 Pheidias and the Frieze of the Parthenon 
oil on wood 72.5 x 109 cm

1869 A Greek Woman 
oil on canvas 47.1 x 66.7 cm

1869 An Exedra 
oil on wood 38 x 59.8 cm


1869 The Pyrrhic Dance  
oil on wood 31 x 81 cm

1870 A Juggler 
oil on canvas 78.7 x 49.5 cm

1870 A Roman Art Lover 
oil on wood 73.5 x 101.6 cm

1870 The Vintage Festival 
oil on canvas 177 x 77 cm

1870s A Floral Bank 
oil on canvas 18 x 26.5 cm

1871 Bacchanale 
oil on canvas

1871 From an Absent One 
watercolour 39 x 26.4 cm

1871 In the Temple 
oil on wood 89.5 x 52 cm

1871 Pottery Painting 
oil on wood

1871c Sunday Morning 
oil on wood 40 x 33 cm

1872 A Roman Emperor AD 41 
oil on canvas 83.8 x 174.2 cm