1963.43.2: The Tragedy of an Honest Wife: Galswintha on Her Death Bed
DrawingsLeft to right, 1963.43.1: A light-skinned, long-haired woman sits on a bed draped with green and gold sheets. She holds a mirror in one hand and rests her chin on the other. Her knees brush against a nightstand with an open cabinet door. A green curtain is pulled back from a large window to the left, which she gazes out of. Outside, three figures are gathered under a large tree. 1963.43.2:This image in the set is shaped like an upside down L, framing a block of text. A figure lies on a high, ornate bed covered by gold-toned blankets. A curtain in the same color is pulled across the windows behind the bed. A candle sits on the table next to the bed. The figure’s arms are outside the covers. They are stiff with open fingers. The figure’s head is obscured by the bed frame. 1963.43.3: A light-skinned figure with long black robes and a tonsured haircut kneels on the ground next to a white coffin. The figure holds a round object in his right hand and raises his left hand with an open palm. Behind the coffin is a blue arched wall painted with images of figures with halos. A window with many small square cutouts is set into the wall to the left. A candle burns on the platform next to the coffin.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1963.43.2
- People
-
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, British (Dronryp, Netherlands 1836 - 1912 Wiesbaden, Germany)
- Title
- The Tragedy of an Honest Wife: Galswintha on Her Death Bed
- Classification
- Drawings
- Work Type
- drawing
- Date
- 1875
- Culture
- British
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/296910
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Watercolor on off-white wove paper (laid down to rectangular sheet)
- Dimensions
- 65.5 x 47.7 cm (25 13/16 x 18 3/4 in.)
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Samuel D. Warren
- Accession Year
- 1963
- Object Number
- 1963.43.2
- Division
- European and American Art
- Contact
- am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Publication History
- United States Centennial Commission, International Exhibition, 1876, Official Catalogue, Art Gallery and Annexes, exh. cat., John R. Nagle & Co. (Philadelphia, PA, 1876), p. 66, no. 45
- Georg Ebers, Lorenz Alma-Tadema: His Life and Works, W.S. Gottsberger (New York, 1886), pp. 70-71
- Vern G. Swanson, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema: The Painter of the Victorian Vision of the Ancient World, Ash & Grant Limited (London, 1977), p. 42
- Vern G. Swanson, The Biography and Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Garton & Co. (London, 1990), pp. 137, 204
- Jennifer Gordon Lovett, Empires Restored, Elysium Revisited: The Art of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, exh. cat., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (Williamstown, Mass., 1991), cat. no. 16, repr.
- R.J. Barrow, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Phaidon (London, 2001), pp. 16, 20, pl. 7
Exhibition History
- International Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876, Philadelphia, PA, 05/10/1876 - 11/10/1876
- Empires Restored, Elysium Revisited: The Art of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, 09/21/1991 - 01/05/1992; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, 02/08/1992 - 03/31/1992; Taft Museum, Cincinnati, 04/23/1992 - 06/11/1992
- 32Q: 2130 19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/02/2022 - 09/19/2022
Related Objects
Verification Level
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