Midday Slumbers 1888

drawing

possibly oil pastel

oil painting

coffee painting

england

underpainting

muted green

painting painterly

green and neutral

watercolor

fine art portrait

warm toned green

Lawrence Alma-Tadema's "Midday Slumbers" (1888) showcases the artist's signature style of depicting ancient Roman life. The scene portrays a woman in a flowing white gown, her bare feet and delicate features echoing the beauty of classical antiquity. Her gesture of pulling back a blue curtain reveals a sleeping figure in the background, hinting at the intimacy of domestic life in a grand Roman villa. The painting's meticulous attention to detail and its use of soft, muted colors create a sense of tranquility and quietude, characteristic of Alma-Tadema's works. This artwork, currently located at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, captures a fleeting moment of stillness amidst the vibrancy of daily life in ancient Rome.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Lawrence Alma-Tadema achieved spectacular success in England producing dreamy, mildly erotic paintings of languorous Victorian beauties in gorgeously appointed antique spaces—Roman baths and markets, colonnaded Grecian terraces, Egyptian houses. His house in London was almost as renowned as his paintings. Reports describe classically inspired architecture, ornament, and mosaics, all designed by the artist himself. Paintings and house alike were informed by a deep knowledge of and fervent fascination with antiquity. Alma-Tadema’s compositions present distant worlds with startling immediacy. Strong vertical elements here tightly crop the space, giving the viewer a sense of privileged intimacy in this glimpse of a woman indulging in a midday nap in a private back room of a house. An excellent colorist, Alma-Tadema was adept at representing the subtle effects of light and shadow in watercolor. Note, for instance, how the warm, diffuse afternoon light coming through the onyx windowpane contrasts with the dark shadows on the cold marble floor.