"Evening atmosphere in front of the Park" (1881). By Ferdinand Knab (German, 1834 - 1902), Oil on canvas, 48,5 x 38,2 cm. 📍Private collection.

 "Evening atmosphere in front of the Park" (1881). By

Phosphorus and Hesperus,(1881). By Evelyn De Morgan, (1855–1919).

_Art . Oil on canvas, 59 cm x 75 cm. 📍De Morgan Centre

This painting inspired by Greek Mythology depicts the Morning star (Phosphorus) and the Evening star (Hesperus) and alludes to the circle of life. Phosphorus is rising, his torch held erect, heralding the morning which is lightening the sky behind him. In comparison Hesperus's evening starlight is fading, as his flame in its dark torch droops and gutters, his eyes are closing, his dark head anticipating the relaxation of sleep. The stylistically flattened figures and marble tones of the young men in the painting reference Evelyn's interest in classical sculpture and the unusual representation of two nude male figures with their phallic torches caused controversy when first exhibited. However, the female hand is apparent in the painting as the seashore backdrop allowed Evelyn to imbue the image with potent female symbolism in the form of sea shells which represent female fertility and sexual potency.

 Phosphorus and Hesperus,(1881). By Evelyn De Morgan

The Musician, (1884). By Rudolf Ernst, (1932 - 1854) . Oil on panel, 42 x 32 cm.

was an Austro-French painter, printmaker and ceramics painter who is best known for his orientalist motifs. He exhibited in Paris under the name "Rodolphe Ernst"

A Nubian or Sudanese street musician strums wistfully at his kissar, a type of Nubian plucked lyre. The rich layering of his robe and gown exhibit Ernst’s mastery at conveying textiles of different weights and textures. Indeed, the whole composition is a feast for the senses, convincingly conveying multiple tactile surfaces, from the player's gleaming skin and the geometric wood carving in the door panel on the left, to the mashrabiye lattice window overhanging the street, to the carved stonework. In fact, the musician's expression of concentration and unity with his instrument are so compelling that the tune he plays is almost audible.

 The Musician, (1884). By Rudolf Ernst, (1932 - 1854) . Oil

“Woman Walking down the Road through the Tree ” (1887), By Julius Sergius von Klever, (Russian,)

 “Woman Walking down the Road through the Tree ” (1887), By

The New Governess,(1894). By Edmund Blair Leighton, (English, 1852-1922).

_art . Oil on canvas, 57.7 cm x 39.6 cm. 📍Private Collection .

 The New Governess,(1894). By Edmund Blair Leighton

The Agony in the Garden, (1819). By Francisco Goya, (1746 - 1828). Oil on panel, 47 x 35 cm.

_art 📍Escuelas Pías de San Antón, Madrid.

As recorded in Luke 22:39-43: Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.

This dramatic painting is a pendant to the large altarpiece ‘The Last Communion of St Joseph of Calasanz’, a commission the artist received May 1819. When the altarpiece was finished Goya wrote to the Rector returning most of the payment he had received saying: 'D. Francisco Goya has to do something in homage to his countryman.” And a few days later presented the Pious School with a gift of ‘The Agony in the Garden’ depicting Christ alone and wracked with doubt shortly before his arrest. Both this small panel and the altarpiece are outstanding in Goya's oeuvre for the intensity of the religious devotion they reflect. Goya may well have felt a personal involvement with the saint who was the founder of the religious schools that are said to have given him his education in Saragossa.

 The Agony in the Garden, (1819). By Francisco Goya, (1746 -

In “Self-portrait with Model” by Lovis Corinth, the artist is making a statement about his painting process and the subtle relationship between model and artist. Corinth is showing us a painted model representing the artist, while an artist in the painting is likewise the model. The female nude is facing the canvas as the artist himself would have done to paint it. Her right-hand flat on the “canvas” is touching it as the artist would have done, representing the artist’s own hand painting.

Yet on the left-hand side of this picture, the two are interwound. Corinth was highlighting the complicated relationship between the artist and his subject. The model is Charlotte, who became Corinth’s muse and preferred model, as she was to stay for the rest of his life. They married in 1903; he was 44; she was only 22.

This painting was the couple’s second joint portrait, and the first after their marriage. Charlotte’s pose refers to the classic images of muses by Rubens and Ingres, alluding to the story of Pygmalion.

Self-portrait with Model, 1903 by Lovis Corinth.

 In “Self-portrait with Model” by Lovis Corinth, the artist

Love's Messenger, (1885). By Marie Spartali Stillman, (1844–1927).

_art. watercolor basic, 81.3 cm × 66 cm. 📍Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware.

Look closely at this painting, it's simple but delightfully detailed!

in which a dove has just carried a love letter to a woman standing in front of an open window. She wears a red rose, and has just put down her embroidery of a blind-folded

 Love's Messenger, (1885). By Marie Spartali Stillman

In the 1870s, his 'black period', Odilon Redon drew literary, fantastic and visionary subjects in charcoal, expressing his quest for metaphysical discovery, before returning to colour in the 1880s.

Caliban, a character from The Tempest by William Shakespeare, was a major source of inspiration for Redon and was depicted in several other works.

Familiar with Darwinism and contemporary scientific theories on the mutation of living beings, Redon interpreted the Elizabethan Renaissance myth of the savage through the portrayal of this strange hybrid creature, closely associated with the plant world.

 In the 1870s, his 'black period', Odilon Redon drew

Vale (farewell), (1913). By Arthur Hacker, (1858 - 1919), Oil on canvas,153 cm x 122.2 cm.

 Vale (farewell), (1913). By Arthur Hacker, (1858 - 1919)

Albert Anker’s painting of Queen Bertha and the Spinners from 1888 shows Bertha of Burgundy (964-1010) teaching three girls, who are presumably children within the royal court, to spin using distaffs. Generally interpreted as nostalgia for artisanal work before the Industrial Revolution, the significance of a long thread dispensed by the three Fates (discussed in detail in the next article) is appropriate for a woman who somehow survived three marriages, at a time when reaching the age of thirty was quite an achievement.

Queen Bertha and the Spinners, 1888 by Albert Anker (1831–1910).

oil on canvas, 86 × 126 cm. 🏛️: Musée Cantonal des Beaux-arts, Lausanne, Switzerland.

 Albert Anker’s painting of Queen Bertha and the

Apolo and Daphne, sculpture by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, executed between 1622 and 1625. Housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the work depicts the climax of the story of Apollo and Daphne (Phoebus and Daphne) in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

In this sculpture, Bernini depicts the mythological drama that occurs between Apollo, god of music and poetry, and Daphne, a virginal nymph. The artist was likely inspired by the classical sculpture Apollo Belvedere (circa 2nd century CE) as well as the ancient Roman poet Ovid’s rendition of the myth.

In Ovid’s telling, the story begins with a pissing contest between two male gods: After Apollo insults Eros (or Cupid), Eros takes revenge by orchestrating a scene of unrequited passion and possession. He shoots a golden arrow into Apollo, which makes him fall desperately in love with Daphne, then embeds a leaden arrow in her, enhancing the repulsion she feels towards her pursuer.

 Apolo and Daphne, sculpture by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo

The Consummation of Empire shows the complete transformation brought by civilisation in his Course of Empire.

It’s noon on a fine summer’s day. The banks of a river are filled with majestic buildings in marble in classical Roman style, with many colonnades. Their steps descend to the water’s edge, where there are small sailing boats and throngs of people. The inhabitants appear opulent, wearing toga-like dress, feasting and feting throughout the city. Large golden statues are decorated with fine textiles, there are exuberant fountains and potted plants. In the distance terraces above the buildings contain further trees and plants. Smoke rises from chimneys of a prominent building at the left, which is presumably an analogue for a previous stone circle as a place of worship.

The Consummation of the Empire (The Course of Empire), 1836 by Thomas Cole. oil on canvas, 130 x 193 cm

 The Consummation of Empire shows the complete

In his painting 'The Death of Messalina', Georges Rochegrosse chooses the instant before her death, and shows a leader of the Praetorian Guard about to kill her with his sword.

Messalina had married the Roman Emperor Claudius, and was powerful and influential, with a reputation for insatiable promiscuity. In 48 CE, there was an unsuccessful plot against Claudius, and Messalina was, rightly or wrongly, accused of conspiracy. She was executed forthwith.

She is depicted dressed in bright scarlet, in accordance with her reputation. At the far left, her maid stands, facing away from the scene, her face buried in her hands. A couple of other women of the court are seen in the background at the left edge, looking on in horror.

Behind the imminent execution, Claudius stands, his hands on his hips, smiling wrily at the killing, with the ranks of the guard stood close behind. The immediate foreground has beautiful red flowers, echoing the bloodshed.

The Death of Messalina, 1916 by Georges Rochegrosse.

 In his painting 'The Death of Messalina', Georges

William Bradford has flooded this painting, 'Ice Dwellers, Watching the Invaders' with the rich reds of dusk. Its title refers to the seals in the foreground, and the polar bear and cubs making their way across the ice at the right.

Ice Dwellers, Watching the Invaders, c.1870-79 by William Bradford.

🏛️: New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA

 William Bradford has flooded this painting, 'Ice Dwellers

Arnold Boecklin a Swiss Symbolist painter, emphasized the morbid energy, rather than decadent melancholia, of symbolism, obsessed with death, and relied on mythology almost as much as Moreau (his own 1872 self portrait places a skeleton playing a violin behind his left shoulder).

The subject of his work “The Plague” was poignant to him, fleeing two cholera epidemics with his family, he also saw five of his 11 children die in infancy.

The Plague, 1898 by Arnold Böcklin. Tempera on fir wood.

🏛️: Kunstmuseum, Basel,  Switzerland

 Arnold Boecklin a Swiss Symbolist painter, emphasized the

Aviator and artist Harold Hume Piffard's well-known painting depicting the capture of the Spanish City of Zaragoza during the Peninsular War (Saragossa: 10 February, 1809) details the brutality suffered by the Spanish at the hands of the French army. It is a vivid image of a cathedral under siege; gun smoke fills the interior of the church as French soldiers trample Spanish monks to the floor.

Saragossa or Zaragoza is a city in Spain. Saragossa resisted fiercely in the Peninsula War (1807-14), a prolonged war fought in Spain and Portugal. The Second Siege of Zaragoza ended with the French capture of the Spanish city. It was particularly noted for its brutality. The Spanish did not rise up against Napoleon until he deposed their king, and put his own brother on the Spanish throne. This occurred shortly after the French invaded Spain on the pretext of conquering Portugal, but took over numerous Spanish fortifications in the processes. This caused a widespread rebellion, not among the aristocracy, but among common people throughout Spain.

Here we see a cathedral under siege – gun smoke fills the church as French soldiers trample Spanish monks to the floor and monks wrap their hands around their attackers’ throats. Saragossa resisted to the bitter end, but the French prevailed.

Saragossa 10 February, 1809 by Harold Hume Piffard.

 Aviator and artist Harold Hume Piffard's well-known

Hera in the House of Hephaistos, 1902 by William Blake Richmond. Oil on canvas, 171.4 x 142.2 cm.

🏛️: Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis.

The title of this painting by William Blake Richmond 'Hera in the House of Hephaistos' is puzzling, as the painting shows a young man apparently in post-coital repose as a young and beautiful goddess robes herself by his bed. It’s generally agreed that Hera (Juno) was the mother of Hephaistos (Vulcan), and that Hephaistos’s wife was Aphrodite, who is commonly associated with the doves flying around the lower part of the painting. Neither is there any sign of a peacock, which would be Hera’s expected attribute.

 Hera in the House of Hephaistos, 1902 by William Blake

One of the leading colorists of belle époque France, Gaston La Touche was friends with many of the Impressionists, and his many depictions of French popular entertainments mirror the work of Realists like Edgar Degas and Jean-Louis Forain. Yet La Touche and his larger, less satirical work drew more from the Rococo tradition of the fête galante, a style of painting pioneered by Jean-Antoine Watteau that centered around the idle pursuits of love and pleasure by the upper class.

Completed over a century after Watteau's death, The Joyous Festival was part of a larger revival of interest in Rococo art at the end of the nineteenth century.

In this expansive, mythical nocturne, a gondola decorated with golden lanterns floats by a group of revelers dancing under a sky lit up by fireworks. With the Palace of Versailles as the backdrop, The Joyous Festival recalls the extravagance of the ancien regime, and was part of a series of dramatically festive evening scenes La Touche completed at the turn of the century.

The Joyous Festival, 1890 by Gaston La Touche.

 One of the leading colorists of belle époque France, Gaston

Truth, 1901 by Luc-Olivier Merson (1846–1920). Oil on canvas, 221 x 372 cm. 🏛️: Hotel Watel-Dehaynin, Paris.

Merson had little regard for the seismic changes taking place in painting around the turn of the century: his painting of 'Truth' from 1901 is full of ornate Art Nouveau decoration. The personification of truth here sits naked as the day she was born, under the Latin inscription for truth, veritas. At the left is an artist with palette and brushes, below a musician and poet with a lyre, and at the right a scientist-philosopher with his globe of the stars.

Look carefully at where Truth is sitting, though, and she is actually on an ornate stone wellhead. The darkness of the top of the well is just visible to each side of her buttocks, and below her feet water dribbles gently from the mouth of a lion, to form a small stream. The winged putto who is holding her left arm is raising her mirror in his left hand. Behind his feet is the large pot on a rope which would be lowered into the well to obtain water. This is a long-standing association, seen most notably in Gérôme’s late works depicting Truth.

 Truth, 1901 by Luc-Olivier Merson (1846–1920). Oil on

At the turn of the 1880s and 1890s Schikaneder used several times the tragic motif of a young girl's wrecked life. He may have been indirectly influenced in the choice of such motifs by the English Pre-Raphaelites, especially by John Everett Millais.

In line with contemporaneous prose, Schikaneder turned most of these scenes into confrontations of poverty and a lust for life. The culmination is this Murder in the house, describing the tragic fate of a woman in a miserable tenament. By painting this story from the lowest social strata on a canvas more than two metres high and three metres long, he gave it the significance of history paintings, considered as works of general importance for society as such.

Murder in the House, 1890 by Jakub Schikaneder.

 At the turn of the 1880s and 1890s Schikaneder used several

Anguish,(1876-1878). By August Friedrich Schenk ,German-French painter, (1828–1901).

_art.  Oil on canvas, 1,510 mm × 2,512 mm.📍 National Gallery of Victoria .

In this painting, Schenck has given his distraught ewe an expression suggestive of despair mingled with stoic determination. Recognising these decidedly human responses, the viewer might be expected to identify immediately with the animal's grim predicament. The ewe's bravery in the face of the threat posed by the murderous circle of crows is perhaps, however, somewhat overstated in her defiant stance above the bleeding lamb. There is little subtlety evident in this work.

 Anguish,(1876-1878). By August Friedrich

The Flood, By Paul Merwart ,(1855-1902). 📍Lviv National Art Gallery

 The Flood, By Paul Merwart ,(1855-1902). 📍Lviv National Art

Portrait of a woman with guitar . By Petrus van Schendel,(1806 -1870).

 Portrait of a woman with guitar . By Petrus van

The Blind Leading the Blind. By Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Oil on canvas.

The Blind Leading the Blind reveals Pieter Bruegel the Elder as a master of observation. Each figure has a different eye affliction, including corneal leukaemia, atrophy of globe and removed eyes. The figures hold their heads up so as to make better use of their other senses. The diagonal composition reinforces the off-kilter motion of the six figures falling in progression, a concern with motion that has been seen as prefiguring the advent of film. The Blind Leading the Blind is considered one of the masterworks of painting for its fine, accurate detail and dynamic composition. Copies include a larger version by Bruegel's son Pieter Brueghel the Younger.

 The Blind Leading the Blind. By Pieter Brueghel the Elder

A Turkish Beauty (1868) By Hugues Merle (1822–1881) Oil on canvas 100.9 x 77.7 cm.

 A Turkish Beauty (1868) By Hugues Merle (1822–1881) Oil on

By  Marie  Wunsch (Austrian , 1862 - 1898) - Little Girl with Meadow Flower Bouquet. oil on canva (55.5 x 40 cm).

 By  Marie  Wunsch (Austrian , 1862 - 1898) - Little Girl

(1852–1926). Oil on panel. 📍Maison de Victor Hugo.

 Esmeralda, (1889-1902). By Lionel Royer (1852–1926). Oil on

The Village Tailor (1894). By Albert Anker . Oil on canvas, 53.1 x 41.9 cm

 The Village Tailor (1894). By Albert Anker . Oil on canvas

Prayer in the Mosque.(1875). By Jean-Léon Gérôme.( French , 1824-1904). Oil on canvas, 40.6 x 33 cm.

 Prayer in the Mosque.(1875). By Jean-Léon Gérôme.( French 

Charity, (1878). By William-Adolphe Bouguereau ,(1825–1905).

_art ,📍Private Collection . Oil on canvas 196 cm × 117 cm.

 Charity, (1878). By William-Adolphe

Portrait of a girl, (1880). By Pierre Auguste Cot, (1837–1883). Oil on canvas, 53 cm x 44 cm.