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A Garden Altar by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
A Garden Altar
A Garden Altar by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
A Garden Altar by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

A Garden Altar

Artist (Dronrijp, Netherlands, 1836 - 1912)
Date1879
Mediumoil on panel
ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings
DimensionsOverall: Height: 44.5 cm, Width: 22 cm
Frame: Height: 63 cm, Width: 40.9 cm, Depth: 5.7 cm
AcquisitionAlexander Macdonald Bequest, 1901.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG002533
About MeAlma-Tadema was a painter of classicised genre subjects set in Greece, Rome and Ancient Egypt. This painting depicts a priestess of Bacchus revelling before a genii-nostra altar, with a statue of crouching Silenius in a niche. A marble frieze of a similar scene runs along the top of the picture.

The artist has captured the appearance and texture of silk, bronze, and marble. He was also famed for his archaeological and architectural accuracy seen here in the rendering of the carved frieze.





More About Me
Clearly a classical theme but also a hint of one of Rossetti's ladies!