The Siesta, or Pompeian Scene by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, 1868. Recorded on November 6, 2024
A domestic scene set in classical antiquity. An old man and a youth recline on divans while an attractive young woman plays music on a double flute. Both the clothing and the setting suggest the Greek world, and the motives and clothing are rigorously faithful to archeological discoveries made in the mid nineteenth century. Despite being Dutch by birth, Sir Lawrence Alma cultivated an eclectic personal neoclassicism closer to the elegance and style of the British Pre-Raphaelites, as can be seen in the present painting. This work entered the Prado Museum in 1887, a donation by Ernesto Gambart, who was the Spanish Consul in Nice.
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