Toilette of a Roman Lady
Date1869
Artist
Simeon Solomon
(British painter, 1840–1905)
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions44 x 38 1/4 in. (111.8 x 97.2 cm)
frame: 51 × 45 1/2 in. (129.5 × 115.6 cm)
frame: 51 × 45 1/2 in. (129.5 × 115.6 cm)
Credit LineF. V. du Pont Acquisition Fund, 1989
Object number1989-116
On View
On viewCollections
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextIn this painting, a beautiful, if somewhat Amazonian, woman is attended by three equally attractive servants. The setting is clearly classical in inspiration. Solomon visited Italy and Pompeii in 1867, and much of the interior may be based on an actual Pompeian fresco. Solomon fully embraced the beauty-worship and decadence of the Aesthetic Movement. The androgynous quality of the central figure is entirely in keeping with the philosophy of the Aesthetes as well as with Solomon’s own preferences.
