02 works, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Henryk Ippolitovich Siemiradzki’s THE GIRL OR THE VASE, with Footnotes. #157
THE GIRL OR THE VASE
Oil on canvas.
28 x 42 cm.
Private collection
A sketch for a larger painting, also known as “The Presentation of a Slave” (Below). In an elegant interior, two traders, one in red, the other in blue, offer a young woman. You are about to open the white robe of the woman and present the naked beauty to a seated older, white-clad gentleman who is holding a high vase in his right arm. The presentation is viewed on the right by a man who is kneeling on a chair and another man. More on this painting
Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (24 October 1843–23 August 1902) was a Polish painter based in Rome, best remembered for his monumental academic art. He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Greek-Roman world and the New Testament, owned by many national galleries of Europe.
Many of his paintings depict scenes from antiquity, often the sunlit pastoral scenes or compositions presenting the lives of early Christians. He also painted biblical and historical scenes, landscapes, and portraits. His best-known works include monumental curtains for the Lviv Theatre of Opera and for the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków…