Lawrence Alma-Tadema

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Lore & Background

Alma-Tadema was born on 8 January 1836 in the village of Dronryp in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. The surname Tadema is an old Frisian patronymic, meaning 'son of Tade', while the names Lourens and Alma came from his godfather. He was the sixth child of Pieter Jiltes Tadema (1797–1840), the village notary, and the third child of Hinke Dirks Brouwer (1800–1863). His father had three sons from a previous marriage. His parents' first child died young, and the second was Artje (1834–1876), Lourens' sister, for whom he had great affection. The Tadema family moved in 1838 to the nearby city of Leeuwarden, where Pieter's position as a notary would be more lucrative. His father died when Lourens was four, leaving his mother with five children: Lourens, his sister, and three boys from his father's first marriage. His mother had artistic leanings and decided that drawing lessons should be incorporated into the children's education. He received his first art training with a local drawing master hired to teach his older half-brothers. It was intended that the boy would become a lawyer; but in 1851 at the age of fifteen he suffered a physical and mental breakdown. Diagnosed as consumptive and given only a short time to live, he was allowed to spend his remaining days at his leisure, drawing and painting. Left to his own devices, he regained his health and decided to pursue a career as an artist. In 1852, he entered the Royal Academy of Antwerp in Belgium where he studied early Dutch and Flemish art, under Gustaf Wappers. During Alma-Tadema's four years as a registered student at the academy, he won several awards. Before leaving the academy, towards the end of 1855, he became assistant to the painter and professor Louis (Lodewijk) Jan de Taeye, whose courses in history and historical costume he had greatly enjoyed at the academy. Although de Taeye was not an outstanding painter, Alma-Tadema respected him and became his studio assistant, working with him for three years. De Taeye introduced him to books that influenced his desire to portray Merovingian subjects early in his career. He was encouraged to depict historical accuracy in his paintings, a trait for which the artist became known. De Taeye’s greatest influence on his young pupil was his interest in ancient civilisations, particularly the Egyptians, first displayed in *The Dying Cleopatra*, begun in 1859 but later destroyed by the artist, and *The Sad Father* or *The Unfavourable Oracle* (Opus X), painted in 1858. Originally a large processional painting in an architectural setting, it was later cut down to a smaller scale to show only three figures; this reduced painting is now in the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Another section of *The Sad Father* was modified by the artist ten years later, in 1869, and exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1871 under the title *The Grand Chamberlain to Sesostris the Great*. Of the large original painting, Sir Edmund William Gosse would later say: 'As the first of a series of Egyptian pictures, some of which are to be counted among the highest expressions of Alma-Tadema’s genius, *The Unfavourable Oracle* is a work of great interest.' The artist planned two other Egyptian-themed paintings in the years 1857 and 1858, named *Going to the Oracle* and *The Contrary Oracle*, of which a number of preparatory drawings that were once in Gosse's possession survive to this day. These paintings were either never executed, or else destroyed, as during his student years Alma-Tadema frequently destroyed or painted over works that he was unhappy with. As the artist's contemporary biographer Percy Cross Standing noted of Lawrence Alma-Tadema's early paintings of Egyptian subjects in particular, 'So careful at all times about detail, he took extraordinary care in the preparation of his preliminary sketches for these pictures.' When asked why he had chosen to paint Egyptian themes, Alma-Tadema said: 'Where else should I have begun as soon as I had become acquainted with the life of the ancients? The first thing a child learns of ancient history is about the court of Pharaoh; and if we go back to the source of art and science, must we not return to Egypt?' Several of his early Egyptian paintings contain precise depictions of objects and settings, which reflect the artist's close study of an important reference book of his era: Sir John Gardner Wilkinson's 'The Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians', published in 1837. Alma-Tadema left Taeye's studio in November 1858 returning to Leeuwarden before settling in Antwerp, where he began working with the painter Baron Jan August Hendrik Leys, whose studio was one of the most highly regarded in Belgium. Under his guidance Alma-Tadema painted his first major work: *The Education of the children of Clovis* (1861). This painting created a sensation among critics and artists when it was exhibited that year at the Artistic Congress in Antwerp. It is said to have laid the foundation of his fame and reputation. Alma-Tadema related that although Leys thought the completed painting better than he had expected, he was critical of the treatment of marble, which he compared to cheese. Alma-Tadema took this criticism very seriously, and it led him to improve his technique and to become the world's foremost painter of marble and variegated granite. Despite any reproaches from his master, *The Education of the Children of Clovis* was well received by critics and artists alike and was eventually purchased and subsequently given to King Leopold of Belgium. In 1860 he befriended the Anglo-Dutch Dommersen family of artists in Utrecht. On 3 January 1863 his invalid mother died, and on 24 September he was married, in Antwerp City Hall, to Marie-Pauline Gressin-Dumoulin de Boisgirard, the daughter of Eugène Gressin-Dumoulin, a French journalist living near Brussels. Nothing is known of their meeting and little of Pauline herself, as Alma-Tadema never spoke about her after her death in 1869. Her image appears in a number of oils, though he painted her portrait only three times, the most notable appearing in *My studio* (1867). The couple had three children. Their eldest and only son lived only a few months dying of smallpox. Their two daughters, Laurence (1865–1940) and Anna (1867–1943), both had artistic leanings: the former in literature, the latter in art. Neither would marry. Alma-Tadema and his wife spent their honeymoon in Florence, Rome, Naples and Pompeii. This, his first visit to Italy, developed his interest in depicting the life of ancient Greece and Rome, especially the latter since he found new inspiration in the ruins of Pompeii, which fascinated him and would inspire much of his work in the coming decades. There he met Geremia Discanno, an Italian painter who had been commissioned by archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli to reproduce the brightly painted frescoes being uncovered in the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum before they faded from exposure. He would consult Discanno a number of times before Discanno's death in 1907 to ensure his paintings of antiquity would reflect the lifestyle of residents of the Greco-Roman world accurately. During the summer of 1864, Tadema met Ernest Gambart, the most influential print publisher and art dealer of the period. Gambart was highly impressed with the work of Tadema, who was then painting *Egyptian Chess Players* (1865). The dealer, recognising at once the unusual gifts of the young painter, gave him an order for twenty-four pictures and arranged for three of Tadema's paintings to be shown in London. In 1865, Tadema relocated to Brussels where he was named a knight of the Order of Leopold. On 28 May 1869, after years of ill health, Pauline died of smallpox at Schaerbeek in Belgium, aged 32. Her death left Tadema disconsolate and depressed. He ceased painting for nearly four months. His sister Artje, who lived with the family, helped with the two daughters then aged five and two. Artje took over the role of housekeeper and remained with the family until 1873 when she married. During the summer Tadema himself began to suffer from a medical problem which doctors in Brussels were unable to diagnose. Gambart eventually advised him to go to England for another medical opinion. Soon after his arrival in London in December 1869, Alma-Tadema was invited to the home of the painter Ford Madox Brown.

Reader's Guide

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was a Dutch-born painter who became a celebrated figure in Victorian art after settling in London. His work focused almost exclusively on classical antiquity, particularly the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire. He depicted languid figures within lavish marble interiors or against brilliant blue Mediterranean landscapes. During his lifetime, he was highly admired for his precise draftsmanship and archaeologically accurate renderings of the ancient world. After his death, his popularity waned, but from the 1960s onward, his importance within Victorian painting was reassessed and appreciated. His early training at the Royal Academy of Antwerp under Gustaf Wappers and later as an assistant to Louis de Taeye shaped his commitment to historical accuracy. De Taeye’s influence steered him toward ancient civilizations, beginning with Egyptian subjects such as *The Dying Cleopatra* and *The Unfavourable Oracle*. Alma-Tadema often destroyed or repainted works he found unsatisfactory. His meticulous preparatory sketches for Egyptian scenes reflected his extraordinary care for detail. He explained his choice of Egyptian themes by noting that a child first learns of ancient history through the court of Pharaoh, and that the source of art and science lies in Egypt. His later Roman-themed paintings, filled with sumptuous textures and precise architectural elements, became his signature, making him one of the most popular painters of his era.

Did You Know?

• The surname Tadema is an old Frisian patronymic meaning 'son of Tade', while the names Lourens and Alma came from his godfather.
• At age fifteen, he was diagnosed as consumptive and given only a short time to live, but he regained his health by spending his days drawing and painting.
• His first major work, *The Education of the Children of Clovis* (1861), was purchased and given to King Leopold of Belgium.
• He became the last officially recognised denizen of the United Kingdom in 1873.
• His wife Pauline died of smallpox in 1869 at age 32, leaving him disconsolate; he stopped painting for nearly four months.