The End of the Song

The End of the Song is a painting by the English artist Edmund Blair Leighton (1852-1922) that was made in 1902. It depicts a scene from the Medieval romance Tristan and Isolde.

In the artwork we can see the tragic lovers sitting outside on a bench. To the right we can see King Mark, the husband of Isolde, looking at the couple with a growing suspicion.

Why is the painting's title supposed to mean? Does it refer to Tristan's harp that he has stopped playing in order to chat with Isolde? Or does it mean that their love song is about to end as Isolde's husband discovers the truth?

This painting is typical of the medieval scenes that Leighton liked to paint. It represents the middle ages as bright and shiny merry old England of brave knights and fair maidens.

The Abbey in the Oakwood

The Abbey in the Oakwood is a painting by the German artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) that was made around 1809 to 1810.

The artwork presents a gloomy scene cast in darkness. The features of the landscape are barely perceivable. Dark trees arise from the black ground. In the center we can see the ruins of an abbey, with only a single window remaining of the once great edifice. On the ground, there are gravestones littered about.

Everything about the painting screams dead and forgotten. There is no life about this place, it is lost to the human world and now stands as a relic of an age passed by. Only remnants of it remain, and even those are sliding back into the night.

This artwork is a great example of the Romantic art genre and its obsession with the medieval world. The age of Enlightenment optimism is over, the bright and shiny future came to nought. All that is left is to stare into the night as all our glory passes away.

Empress Eugenie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting

Empress Eugenie Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting is a painting by the German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873) that was made in 1855. It is a portrait of Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French and France's last monarch.

This artwork depicts the life of an empress just as you would imagine it. She is sitting outside in a garden, with verdant trees behind her, together with her eight ladies-in-waiting. The all wear beautiful dresses of all sorts of colours. No doubt they were just frolicking about the palace grounds and stopped for a moment to let us admire their elegance.

The entire image is a little girl's fantasy of what being royalty must be like. Winterhalter was famous for these kind of paintings of glamorous people in dazzling clothes living carefree lives. 

Unfortunately, reality rarely turns out like the pretty pictures. The Second French Empire didn't even make it to its 18th birthday before Napoleon III was overthrown. Eugenie's only son died aged just 23. 

Such summer idylls don't last long. Eventually cruel winter comes for them all.

Madame de Pompadour

Madame de Pompadour is painting by the French artist François Boucher (1703-1770) that was made in 1756. It is a portrait of Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, the mistress of the French king Louis XV. She is one of the great symbols of the 18th century and the French monarchy in its last golden age.

In this artwork we see Pompadour lounging on a sofa in her richly decorated apartments. She wears a green dress with pink ribbons and flowers. In her right hand she holds a book that sits on her lap. On the right side is a small writing desk with a quill and candle. On the the left side at the bottom sits a little black dog.

Pompadour sits behind a mirror that reflects the back of her head and some books in a cupboard. The room is decorated with a golden coloured wallpaper and curtains. There are roses below her feet and under her desk.

What does this portrait want us to think about Pompadour? The books want us to see her as a wise and intelligent woman. Dogs in portraits are usually a symbol of loyalty and fidelity. The richness of the clothing and her surroundings shows off Pompadour's great status and power. And yet the little flowers scattered about suggest a hidden delicateness.

The Death of Socrates

 

The Death of Socrates is a history painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) that was made in 1787. This painting is one of the great works of Neoclassicism the art genre of the Enlightenment that looked back to the classical world.

This painting takes us to Ancient Greece and the last moments of the great philosopher Socrates. He is in a dark dungeon, surrounded by his followers and about to take the cup of poison. All about him men are stricken with grief while he alone is calm. The one who hands him the cup can't even bear to look at Socrates.

It is not just a man that dies in this artwork but reason itself. It wants us to feel sad at this loss of light, yet comforted by the knowledge that history will remember Socrates and not his judges. It is wrath of the intelligent against an unjust system.

It is also prescient in how it predicts the French Revolution's descent into madness. A movement that started with the best of intentions but ended up being more bloody than the ancien régime that came before it. A time when reason truly died.

Saint Jerome Writing

 

Saint Jerome Writing is painting by the Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) who is often known just by his last name. It was completed sometime around 1605 to 1606.

The artwork depicts the early christian saint Jerome of Stridon who was born sometime in the 340s and died in 420. He is famous for translating the Bible into Latin, a translation known as the Vulgate.

In this painting we see Jerome busy at his work. His head is buried in books and he doesn't even notice our presence. To him we are but passers by, unworthy enough to interrupt him from his sacred work. He wears a red cloth that is wrapped around his aging body. His bald head shines brightly, and above it is a barely noticeable halo.

Jerome's desk is littered with books, and above them on the left side sits a single skull. The background is pitch black. The entire scene is unnatural and is not meant to be understood as a realistic depiction.

So what does this work of art mean? Is the darkness in the back meant to represent the earthly world, while Jerome and his books are the light of the true religion? Is the skull a symbol of mortality, that our time on this earth is short and we should focus on spiritual matters? Or do we, in modern times, look to this painting as representing the church in darkness, a thing of the past that is fading into oblivion?

Elizabeth I when a Princess

Elizabeth I when a Princess is a portrait of the english queen that is attributed to the flemish artist William Scrots. It was painted around 1546 to 1547 when Elizabeth was 13 years old.

The painting depicts Queen Elizabeth I of England in her teenage days, long before her ascent to the throne. She wears a red dress and that is richly decorated with pearls. The colours of her clothing are the royal colours of England. The painting wants to present Elizabeth as a worthy member of the Tudor dynasty. Despite her young age, she is unafraid to look us straight in the eyes.

Elizabeth holds a book in her hands and behind her is another book that lies open. The artwork tries to impress upon us the idea that she is a wise and learned princess. 

Of course, we today look at this work of art with hindsight. We know that Elizabeth will become a great queen, but at the time of the making of this portrait nothing about her future was certain.