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Lot Essay
To appreciate Alma-Tadema's work to the full we need to respond to its subject matter first and foremost; if we cannot find interest in painstaking reconstructions of the ancient world, we shall miss the main point of his achievement. Yet although his technique and powers of design are generally subordinate to the anecdotal aspect, he does occasionally surprise us with a beautiful passage of paint or a composition which is arresting in itself. The present picture is an example. It is entirely characteristic in its application of prodigious archaeological knowledge to a trivial theme; yet the design is so simple, the handling of paint so masterly and the colour harmony so delicate that we tend to approach it on a formal level, rather as we do an Albert Moore or even a Leighton.
In September 1874, Alma-Tadema wrote to his friend Carel Vosmaer saying, 'I have just finished a laying woman. She is recumbent at a Roman mosaic and feeds fishes in the impluvium. I don't believe you know the thing. I believe it turned out quite well.' The picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1875, and much admired. F.G. Stephens, the art critic of the Athenaeum, described it as 'one of the best of [the artist's] works as regards spontaneity of conception and execution. Technically speaking, there is something marvelous in the draughtsmanship displayed in the mosaics of the floor; their geometical patterns are in perfect perspective, although vanishing sharply.' The Illustrated London News called the picture 'a miracle of elaboration, all the thousands of tesserae (on the pavement) which go to the intricate pattern being apparently painted individually, each under its right perspective effect'.
The picture hung alongside The Sculpture Gallery, Alma-Tadema's largest canvas, and A Picture Gallery in Rome at the Royal Academy of 1875. The trio secured Alma-Tadema's reputation as the premier classicist of England, alongside Leighton.
Comparable pictures to the present work were painted in 1872 (Goldfish, opus CVIII, later reworked as opus CCCLIX in 1900) and 1875 (Waterpets, opus CLI), and the theme of feeding fish occurs again in Silver Favourites (Manchester City Art Gallery), a well-known picture of 1903.
We are grateful to Professor Vern. G. Swanson, Springville Museum of Art, Utah, for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
In September 1874, Alma-Tadema wrote to his friend Carel Vosmaer saying, 'I have just finished a laying woman. She is recumbent at a Roman mosaic and feeds fishes in the impluvium. I don't believe you know the thing. I believe it turned out quite well.' The picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1875, and much admired. F.G. Stephens, the art critic of the Athenaeum, described it as 'one of the best of [the artist's] works as regards spontaneity of conception and execution. Technically speaking, there is something marvelous in the draughtsmanship displayed in the mosaics of the floor; their geometical patterns are in perfect perspective, although vanishing sharply.' The Illustrated London News called the picture 'a miracle of elaboration, all the thousands of tesserae (on the pavement) which go to the intricate pattern being apparently painted individually, each under its right perspective effect'.
The picture hung alongside The Sculpture Gallery, Alma-Tadema's largest canvas, and A Picture Gallery in Rome at the Royal Academy of 1875. The trio secured Alma-Tadema's reputation as the premier classicist of England, alongside Leighton.
Comparable pictures to the present work were painted in 1872 (Goldfish, opus CVIII, later reworked as opus CCCLIX in 1900) and 1875 (Waterpets, opus CLI), and the theme of feeding fish occurs again in Silver Favourites (Manchester City Art Gallery), a well-known picture of 1903.
We are grateful to Professor Vern. G. Swanson, Springville Museum of Art, Utah, for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.