Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema ( * 1836 † 1912 )


Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema birth name: Lourens Alma Tadema) was born on January 8, 1836 in Dronrijp, the Netherlands .

The names Lourens and Alma belonged to the boy's godfather. He later changed his name to Lawrence in English and adopted Alma as his last name.

In 1852 he entered the Royal Academy of Antwerp and became a student of Egide Charles Gustave Wappers. During his four-year apprenticeship, he became familiar with early Dutch and Flemish art. At the end of his studies, Lawrence became a studio assistant to the painter and professor Louis Jan de Taeye (1855-1858).

He settled in Antwerp and worked with the painter Baron Jan August Hendrik Leys. His first work appeared in 1861, which was exhibited at the Artistic Congress in Antwerp and received a great response - "The education of the children of Clovis".

Visiting Italy played a major role in the development of his artistic attitude 1863. The historical photographs of Italian motifs, which were just becoming fashionable at the time, served as a model and inspiration. During his travels, Alma-Tadema bought hundreds of photographs and arranged them in portfolios. The collection was handed over to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1915 and passed on to the library of the University of Birmingham in 1947.

In July 1870, the Franco-Prussian War broke out. Alma-Tadema inevitably left mainland Europe and moved to London, where he spent the rest of his life.

The artist of academic realism was very recognized in Victorian England. Lawrence Alma-Tadema was greatly appreciated and sponsored by Queen Victoria. In 1873 he was granted permanent residence in England and in 1876 he became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts.

In 1899, Queen Victoria raised him to the nobility. Lawrence Alma-Tadema became a Knight Bachelor and was given the suffix "Sir".

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema died on June 28, 1912 at the age of 66 in the Kaiserhof Spa in Wiesbaden, where he was treated for stomach ulcers "An Audience at Agrippa" (1876) is one of the most famous of his paintings at this time. "Unconscious Rivals" (1893), "The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888)," The Earthly Paradise "(1891)," Spring "(1894)," The Coliseum "(1896).


Art prints and oil reproductions by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

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