Remorse (painting)

Did You Know?

• Lucien Dubois praised the canvas for its drawing technique and use of colour, but complained that its meaning was not clear.
• Luc-Olivier Merson considered it an outstanding work and regretted that the jury had not awarded it a medal at the 1875 Salon.

Subject

The painting shows Orestes after he has killed his mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus to avenge his father Agamemnon. Orestes looks down in horror at the bodies, while the Erinyes crowd around him. Baader painted both Orestes and Clytemnestra nude to demonstrate his anatomical skill to the Academy and to appeal to Salon audiences fond of sensual nudity.

History

The painting first hung at the Museum of Fine Arts in Dole before being transferred to the Louvre in 1980 and later entering the Musée d’Orsay’s collection. It never went on display there because of severe damage: tears, warped canvas, altered paint layers, and extensive cracking. For the museum’s thirtieth anniversary in 2016, restorers worked inside a glass booth in the public galleries. Once finished, the work was lent to Munich’s Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung for the 2017–18 exhibition Gut · Wahr · Schön. Meisterwerke des Pariser Salons aus dem Musée d'Orsay.