Sappho and alcaeus alma-tadema biography

Sappho and Alcaeus

1881 painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Sappho and Alcaeus is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch-British artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema, from 1881. It is held by the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore.

Description

The painting measures 66 by 122 centimetres (26 in × 48 in). It depicts a concert in the late 7th century BC, with the poet Alcaeus of Mytilene playing the kithara. In the audience is fellow Lesbos poet Sappho, accompanied by several of her female friends. Sappho is paying close attention to the performance, resting her arm on a cushion which bears a laurel wreath, presumably intended for the performer. The painting illustrates a passage by the poet Hermesianax, recorded by Athenaeus in his Deipnosophistae ("The Philosophers' Banquet"), book 13, page 598.

The location, with tiers of white marble seating, is based on the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, but Alma-Tadema replaced the original inscribed names of Athenians with the names of Sappho's friends. In the background, the Aegean Sea can be seen through some trees.

Reception

The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1881, and depicted in William Powell Frith's A Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881, to the far right, being inspected by John Everett Millais. It was highly praised by critics: Punch described it as "marbellous".

Provenance

It was acquired by William Thompson Walters of Baltimore, and on his death in 1894 it was inherited by his son Henry Walters, who left it to the Walters Art Museum on his own death in 1931.

References

  • Sappho husband

    • Sappho and Alcaeus

    In 1870, the Dutch-born, Belgian-trained artist Alma-Tadema moved to London, where he found a ready market among the wealthy middle classes for paintings re-creating scenes of domestic life in imperial Roman times. In this work, however, he turns to early Greece to illustrate a passage by the ancient Greek poet Hermesianax (active ca. 330 BC) preserved in Atheneaus, Deipnosophistae, "Banquet of the Learned," book 2, line 598. On the island of Lesbos (Mytilene), in the late 7th century BC, Sappho and her companions listen rapturously as the poet Alcaeus plays a "kithara." Striving for verisimilitude, Alma-Tadema copied the marble seating of the Theater of Dionysos in Athens, although he substituted the names of members of Sappho's sorority for those of the officials incised on the Athenian prototype.

    Inscription

    Provenance

    William T. Walters, Baltimore, after 1881, by purchase [Deschamps as agent]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

    Exhibitions

    2014-2016From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
    2007Howard Pyle and the American Renaissance. Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford.
    2002-2004A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte.
    1997Victorians: British Painting in the Reign of Queen Victoria, 1837-1901. National Gallery of Art, Washington.
    1991-1992Empires Restored, Elysium Revisited: The Art of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, AJ Amsterdam; The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati; The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis.
    1977Victorian Painting. The Fine Arts Society, London.

    Conservation

    DateDescriptionNarrative
    8/17/1990Loan Cons
      Sappho and alcaeus alma-tadema biography
  • Lawrence alma-tadema
  • Alcaeus poems

    • “Sappho and Alcaeus” by Lawrence Alma-Tadema

    “Sappho and Alcaeus” by Lawrence Alma-Tadema depicts the poet Alcaeus of Mytilene playing the kithara for the poet Sappho, accompanied by several of her female friends.

    Sappho is paying close attention to the performance, resting her arm on a cushion which bears a laurel wreath, intended as a gift for the performer.

    The white marble seating is based on the “Theater of Dionysus” in Athens, but the artist has replaced the original inscribed names of Athenians with the names of Sappho’s friends. In the background, the Aegean Sea can be seen through the trees.

    This painting was inspired by a passage by the ancient Greek poet Hermesianax (about 330 BC), which is set on the island of Lesbos, in the late 7th century BC.

    The ancient text tells the story about Sappho, and her companions listen rapturously to the poet Alcaeus as he plays a “kithara.”

    This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1881 and was highly praised by critics. Punch described it as “marbellous,” a play on the words marvelous and marble.”.

    Sappho

    Sappho (630 – 570 BC) was considered the greatest female poet of ancient Greece. Sappho came from the island of Lesbos and was known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by a lyre.

    In ancient times, Sappho was widely regarded as one of the greatest lyric poets and honed with the name “The Poetess.”

    Beyond her poetry, she is well known as a symbol of love and desire between women, with the English words sapphic and lesbian being derived from her name and the name of her home island, respectively.

    Most of Sappho’s poetry is now lost, and what has survived is only in fragmentary form, except for one complete poem: the “Ode to Aphrodite.” 

    Her poetry was well-known and greatly admired through much of antiquity, and she was among the canon of nine lyric poets most highly

    File:Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, RA, OM - Sappho and Alcaeus - Walters 37159.jpg

      
    Artist
     (1836–1912)   

     

    Alternative names

    Lawrence Alma Tadema, Lourens Alma Tadema, Laurens Alma Tadema

    DescriptionDutch-British painter, drawer, etcher and illustrator
    Date of birth/death 8 January 1836  25 June 1912 
    Location of birth/deathDronryp Wiesbaden 
    Work period1851-1912
    Work location

    Antwerp (1852-1865), Leeuwarden (1855), Cologne (1861), Pompeii (1863-1864), Paris (1864), City of Brussels (1865-1870), London (1868, 1870-1912), Egypt (1902-1903)

    Authority file

    artist QS:P170,Q240526

    Title

    Sappho and Alcaeus

    Object typepainting 
    Genrehistory painting 
    Description

    English: In 1870, the Dutch-born, Belgian-trained artist Alma-Tadema moved to London, where he found a ready market among the wealthy middle classes for paintings re-creating scenes of domestic life in imperial Roman times. In this work, however, he turns to early Greece to illustrate a passage by the ancient Greek poet Hermesianax (active ca. 330 BC) preserved in Atheneaus, Deipnosophistae, "Banquet of the Learned," book 2, line 598. On the island of Lesbos (Mytilene), in the late 7th century BC, Sappho and her companions listen rapturously as the poet Alcaeus plays a "kithara". Striving for verisimilitude, Alma-Tadema copied the marble seating of the Theater of Dionysos in Athens, although he substituted the names of members of Sappho's sorority for those of the officials incised on the Athenian prototype.

    Date 1881

    date QS:P571,+1881-00-00T00:00:00Z/9

    Mediumoil on panel

    medium QS:P186,Q296955;P186,Q106857709,P518,Q861259

    Dimensions height: 66 cm (25.9 in); width: 122 cm (48 in)

    dimensions QS:P2048,66U174728

    dimensions QS:P2049,122U174728

    ; Framed height: 104.1 cm (41 in); width: 154.9 cm (61 in)

    dimensions QS:P2048,104.14U174728

    di