And now, Addio! I leave thee to thy—he turned to Messer Raimondo insultingly—Orsini
Date1945
Artist
Henry James Soulen
(American illustrator, 1888–1965)
Illustration Citation"A Smile from Lucrezia Borgia," by F. Britten Austin, in The Saturday Evening Post, May 11, 1945
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions34 1/4 × 36 1/8 in. (87 × 91.8 cm)
frame: 37 1/2 × 39 1/2 in. (95.3 × 100.3 cm)
frame: 37 1/2 × 39 1/2 in. (95.3 × 100.3 cm)
Credit LineGayle and Alene Hoskins Endowment Fund, 2005
Object number2005-1
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextIn this fictionalized treatment of the Roman aristocracy in the 16th century, the femme fatale Lucrezia Borgia sits between the loyal servant who loves her (at right) and her effete and conniving brother.Although Soulen had a predeliction for brilliant color all his life, the appearance of even brighter colors and impressionistic broken brush strokes became typical in his 1920s work; his notes indicate that he was influenced by the work of Russian painter and stage designer Leon Bakst. Soulen made thousands of color notes juxtaposing tints in varying degrees of saturation to serve as a reference for his paintings.
In 1932, Soulen turned down an offer from the Walt Disney Company to work as a color consultant, preferring to remain in the Northeast.
