In the peristyle by Lawrence Alma-Tadema

This highly delicate painting stages female beauty in harmony with nature within a luxurious interior. Temporarily titled “In the peristyle”, this work bears witness to Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s gastronomic style within Victorian Neo-Classicism. The artist explores the theme of the awakening of the senses through a simple and graceful gesture, combining the elegance of classical statuary with the ephemeral freshness of the plant world.

In an elegant room, a young woman with updone hair leans gracefully toward a large flowering shrub. Dressed in a sumptuous white gown covered by a blue vest adorned with rich traditional golden embroideries, she closes her eyes to inhale the scent of the small white flowers. At her feet stand other potted plants with purple and yellow flowers, forming a rich floral mass in the foreground. The background is dominated by a large Pompeian red wall decorated with delicate vertical golden motifs. On the left, on a raised pedestal, a white marble statue representing a draped woman brings a touch of classical solemnity to this intimate and scented atmosphere.

The painter’s exceptional expertise manifests itself in the incredible precision of textile and botanical details. Lawrence Alma-Tadema perfectly masters the rendering of complex cookies and the delicacy of floral petals. His meticulous realism lends a nearly living presence and great poetry to this interior scene.