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Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Artist Biography

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Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Lawrence Alma Tadema (born Laurens Tadema) was Dutch, and only came to England when in his mid-30s, in 1869. He was a great Anglophile, and became very much part of the English establishment, becoming ARA in 1876, RA in 1879 and gaining a knighthood in 1899. Early influences on his art included George Ebers, a famous Egyptologist, and he painted some ancient Egyptian scenes, most notably Pastimes in Ancient Egypt in 1864. However, after a visit to Pompeii, he painted above all the life of ancient Greece and Rome, concentrating on the domestic and the homely rather than the dramatic. His art, prints and posters were commissioned en masse by the art dealer Ernest Gambart, who encouraged him to concentrate on the highly saleable classical paintings.

In London, after the death of his first wife, Alma Tadema married Laura Epps, who appears in many of his pictures (along with his daughters later on), with curly red or brown hair, rosy cheeks, and solid rather than fine-boned features. Another characteristic Alma Tadema feature is marble, and he is the supreme painter of that material. His art, prints and posters are full of accurate archaeological detail, praised highly by Ruskin, although the famous critic had good and bad things to say about Alma Tadema.

His art, prints and posters were without complicated themes or moral lessons and they were criticized for being lacking in any spirituality, and later for showing ‘Victorians dressed up in ancient costume' (poor Laura Tadema, his frequent model, was said to be ‘too fat in the ankles'). During his lifetime, Alma Tadema's work was very popular with the public, but his reputation declined rapidly after his death.

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Art, Prints and Posters Collection