The Evening Angel 1848

Alexandre Cabanel painted this watercolor titled "The Evening Angel" sometime in the mid-19th century in France. We see a contemplative angel at dusk, gazing at the landscape. Cabanel came to prominence as an academic painter, a style favored by the French art establishment. The Paris Salon, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, was the most important annual art event in France. Cabanel's success in this institutional context made him an influential figure in the art world of his time. But his work was always, to some extent, contested. He was known for his sensual and idealized portrayals of historical, mythological, and religious subjects, which can be seen as either upholding conservative values, or simply using tradition to create a new image. To fully understand this work, scholars study exhibition reviews, biographies of the artists, and the institutional history of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. It helps to show that artistic meaning is always rooted in a specific time and place.