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Artist or Maker: s - SIR LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA O.M., R.A., British, 1836-1912
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Dimensions: 18 by 26 in.
45.7 by 66 cm
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Provenance: PROPERTY OF A WEST COAST PRIVATE COLLECTOR
Commissioned by Obach & Co., London
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1897
Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1898
Sale, Parke-Bernet, New York, November 30, 1943, lot 406, illustrated
Findlay Galleries, New York
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Literature: Helen Zimmern, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema R A, London, 1902, p. 72
Rudolf Dircks, "The later works of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema O.M., R.A., R.W.S.," Art Journal Supplementary monograph, Christmas Issue, December 1910, London, p. 32
Vern Swanson, The Biography and Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, London, 1990, no. 384, p. 258, illustrated p. 463
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Notes: Melody on a Mediterranean Terrace is an ideal example of Alma-Tadema working at the height of his Classical Roman style, painting panels of exquisite detail within a wash of radiant, expansive lighting. The picture is a virtuoso of elegant elements, from the crimson poppies, to the swag of wisteria, to the jewels the reclining woman wears in her hair. The rectangular composition of a room bordered by columns seems to anticipate the tabernacle frame, which Alma-Tadema would have designed for the painting.
In 1868, a group of soldiers traveling along the Galgenberg River, near Hildesheim, discovered an extraordinary, unprecedented collection of Augustan silver pieces dating from approximately 12 B.C. The collection, which included a variety of urns, candelabra and plates, incited great fervor amongst the archaeological community. The find's most impressive piece was a silver crater with griffins, putti and organic arabesques carved onto the exterior, the piece is now in the Kunstgerwerbemuseum, Berlin. Through his archeologist colleagues, Alma-Tadema would have had access to reproductions of the pieces and he most likely used a life-size replica of the crater to paint Melody on a Mediterranean Terrace.
Alma-Tadema recreated the classical world of Roman antiquity through the eyes of a British Victorian. 19th century Britains enjoyed a relatively prosperous economy and considerable military strength, paralleling the Roman citizens they fashionably revered. In many ways the Victorian spirit mirrored what Pliny the Elder called "the immense majesty of the Roman peace" ( The Oxford Hisotry of the Classical World, Oxford, 1986, p. 539). In the present work, were the costume and ornamental details substituted, the two women could be Victorian ladies resting peacefully through the afternoon.
This painting originally belonged to Henry Walters, who, with his father, William, formed one of the most important art collections in America in the late 19th century.
We would like to thank Vern G. Swanson, of the Springville Museum of Art, Utah, for providing additional catalogue information.
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