0892361867.pdf

LAWRENCE

ALMA TADEMA

Spring

LAWRENCE ALMA TADEMA

Spring

Louise Lippincott

GETTY MUSEUM STUDIES ON ART

M A L I B U ,

C A L I F O R N I A

1990

© 1991 The J. Paul Getty Museum 17985 Pacific Coast Highway M a l i b u , California 90265-5799 M a i l i n g Address: P.O. Box 2112 Santa Monica, California 90407-2112 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lippincott, Louise, 1953— Lawrence Alma Tadema : Spring / Louise Lippincott. p. cm. — (Getty Museum studies on art) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). I S B N 0-89236-186-7 1. Alma-Tadema, Lawrence, Sir, 183 6-1912. Spring. 2. AlmaTadema, Lawrence, Sir, 1836-1912—Criticism and interpretation. I . Title. I I . Series. ND497.A4A755 1991 759.2—dc2o 90-49669 CIP

Cover, foldout: L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A

(British, 1836-1912). Spring, 1895. O i l on canvas, 178.4x80 cm(701/4x 311/2in.). M a l i b u , J. Paul Getty Museum 72.PA.3. Frontispiece: L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A .

Self-Portrait, 1896. O i l on canvas, 65.7x 53.5 cm (251/2x 21 in.). Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi.

A l l photographs are reproduced courtesy of the owners and institutions w i t h the following exceptions: frontis. (The Bridgeman Library, London); figs. 3 (Hanover Studios, London); 4 (© Elke Walford); 5, 25 (Alinari/Art Resource, N e w York [Anderson]); 7 (Walker A r t Gallery, Liverpool; photo: John M i l l s ) ; 8 (photo: O. E. Nelson, N e w York); 13 (courtesy of Kurt E. Schon, Ltd.); 15 (courtesy of Christie, Manson & Woods, London); 19 (Walker A r t Gallery, Liverpool); 53 (courtesy of Sotheby's, New York); and 66 (courtesy of Academy of M o t i o n Picture Arts and Sciences).

C O N T E N T S

A l m a Tadema and Spring

Spring's

Festival

7

10

The I m p o r t a n c e of Details

40

A r t and Empire

72

Notes

91

Selected B i b l i o g r a p h y

94

Acknowledgments

9 7

Alma Tadema and Spring SIR

LAWRENCE A L M A

T A D E M A (frontispiece) was a successful artist a n d a

fundamentally h a p p y m a n . B o r n i n p r o v i n c i a l H o l l a n d and t r a i n e d i n A n t w e r p , by the age of t h i r t y he h a d established his r e p u t a t i o n as a painter of ancient and medieval his­ tory. I n 1 8 7 0 he m o v e d t o L o n d o n , h o m e of his influential dealer, G a m b a r t , and most of his w e a l t h y patrons. H a p p i l y m a r r i e d , satisfied w i t h his w o r k , successful i n his ca­ reer, loved by the p u b l i c , esteemed by fellow artists regardless of aesthetic rivalries, and r i c h enough t o afford l u x u r i e s — i f there was more t o w a n t f r o m life, A l m a Tadema seems n o t t o have missed it. H i s great passions were his p a i n t i n g , the decoration of his house, the p r o d u c t i v i t y of his garden, a n d music. Friends described his sense of h u m o r as ready, simple, even c h i l d i s h ; he was also obsessively neat. H i s politics were conser­ 1

vative and i m p e r i a l i s t . T h e rise o f socialism, the g r o w i n g tensions between European states, the a l i e n a t i o n of the artistic avant-garde, the p l i g h t of the i n d u s t r i a l classes— such issues never clouded the aesthetic dreams A l m a Tadema lived and p a i n t e d . L i v i n g i n an artificial paradise o f his o w n creation, A l m a Tadema devoted m o s t of his career t o p a i n t i n g other ones. H i s paintings t h a t ostensibly represent scenes f r o m ancient R o m a n life are filled w i t h the prosperity, ease, sociability, amenities, a n d tidiness characteristic of his o w n w o r l d . They reflect n o t only his character and life­ style b u t also his love of his w o r k : the laying of p a i n t o n t o canvas. A l m a Tadema's paintings have always been n o t e d for their technical perfec­ t i o n , w e a l t h of detail, and careful finish. H e h a d the m i s f o r t u n e t o end his career as these very qualities were being challenged by new styles and movements: Impression­ ism

a n d S y m b o l i s m ( w h i c h he admired) and Post-Impressionism a n d m o d e r n i s m

Figure 1 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, 1 8 9 5 . O i l 3 i V z in.). M a l i b u , J. Paul Getty Museum 7 2 . P A . 3 .

7

o n

canvas, 1 7 8 . 4 x 8 0 cm ( 7 0 % x

( w h i c h he d i d n o t ) . T h e vogue for his p a i n t i n g h a d ended i n avant-garde circles by the 2

early 1880s; by the 1890s even his admirers w a n t e d m o r e poetry, fewer details, and an end t o antique fantasy. By then, however, A l m a Tadema had become a n a t u r a l i z e d B r i t ­ ish citizen and member of the R o y a l Academy, and he was soon t o be k n i g h t e d . H i s paintings were collected by the wealthy and p o w e r f u l of Europe and A m e r i c a ; p r i n t s after t h e m were b o u g h t by the m i d d l e classes everywhere. H i s p o s i t i o n seemed u n ­ shakable. Consequently, his fall, w h e n i t came, was a l l the m o r e d r a m a t i c . A l m a Tad­ ema died i n 1912, and his r e p u t a t i o n perished soon thereafter. C h a n g i n g styles o f art, changing tastes, and the effects of the First W o r l d W a r h a d m u c h t o do w i t h this. Spring

(fig. 1, foldout) is a fine and i m p o r t a n t example of A l m a Tadema's art.

T h e t a l l , n a r r o w p a i n t i n g , encased i n its t y p i c a l , ponderous frame inspired by classical architecture and designed by the artist himself, was completed i n 1895 after four years of sporadic w o r k and at least one alteration. I t represents a procession w i n d i n g its w a y t h r o u g h the n a r r o w marble passageways of w h a t one m i g h t imagine t o be ancient R o m e . Y o u n g girls bear baskets of flowers, perhaps as an offering t o a g o d ; they are escorted by self-conscious maidens w i e l d i n g branches. T a m b o u r i n e and pipe players lend cadence t o their steps. Behind t h e m the procession assumes a sacred character, w i t h bearers of chalice, casket, and i v o r y altar emerging f r o m the r i g h t . T h e populace seems t o have t u r n e d o u t along the parade route i n a j u b i l a n t m o o d . T h e architecture and groups of figures p r o v i d e the basic structure of the c o m p o s i t i o n and are the key t o the painting's subject. H o w e v e r , color, life, and interest come f r o m the details t h a t cover its surface like fantastic e m b r o i d e r y o n a conventionally cut garment. Bits of col­ u m n s , bunches of flowers, glimpses of silver and bronze reveal A l m a Tadema's love of " w o r k " and his concentration o n small issues. Spring's

fate f o l l o w e d A l m a Tadema's o w n . E x h i b i t e d t o great effect at the

R o y a l A c a d e m y i n 1895, reproduced i n thousands of p r i n t s , and sold at ever higher prices i n the decades preceding the First W o r l d War, i t vanished f r o m sight after the artist's m e m o r i a l e x h i b i t i o n i n 1913. I t reemerged i n Southern C a l i f o r n i a i n the 1970s i n the w a k e of p u b l i c i t y s u r r o u n d i n g television personality A l l e n F u n t a n d his collec­ t i o n of w o r k s of art by "the w o r s t painter of the nineteenth century." Funt's c o l l e c t i n g 3

8

of A l m a Tadema's w o r k , m o t i v a t e d , i t w o u l d seem, by aesthetic perversity, nevertheless c o i n c i d e d w i t h m o r e serious reevaluations o f nineteenth-century academic a r t l e d by universities a n d museums. N o t only A l m a Tadema b u t also his contemporaries such as the French artist W i l l i a m A d o l p h e Bouguereau began t o attract widespread a t t e n t i o n and a d m i r a t i o n . I n 1972 Spring was purchased at a u c t i o n by the Getty M u s e u m after sharp c o m p e t i t i o n f r o m F u n t , a n d i n 1974 i t t o o k its place i n the re-created R o m a n v i l l a constructed t o house the o i l billionaire's g r o w i n g collections. T h e purchase was i n one sense a misguided one, for i t was t h o u g h t t h a t this V i c t o r i a n daydream w o u l d illustrate the realities of life i n ancient R o m e , something i t c o u l d n o t d o . Yet, i n another sense i t 4

was a b r i l l i a n t a c q u i s i t i o n , for Spring

r a p i d l y became, a n d has remained, the public's

favorite w o r k o f a r t i n the M u s e u m . Steady interest i n the p a i n t i n g has s t i m u l a t e d ex­ tensive research i n t o its history, subject, c o m p o s i t i o n , a n d significance, so t h a t today i t can b o t h be appreciated as a beautiful a n d engaging w o r k o f a r t a n d u n d e r s t o o d as a poetic statement o f late V i c t o r i a n idealism.

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Spring's Festival A L M A T A D E M A ' S choice of a festival t o represent s p r i n g t i m e resulted f r o m several influences. One was the emphasis o n processional and r i t u a l i n the art and l i t ­ erature of the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t i n B r i t a i n . A n o t h e r was the a b u n d a n t available doc­ u m e n t a t i o n concerning spring celebrations i n antique times. A t h i r d was the r i s i n g p o p u l a r i t y of s i m i l a r festivals i n late nineteenth-century L o n d o n . A n e x a m i n a t i o n of Spring's

sources reveals t h a t its subject—apparently an obvious one—contains a r i c h ­

ness of m e a n i n g w h i c h adds significantly t o one's enjoyment of the w h o l e . A l m a Tadema h a d t w o clues t o the painting's subject inscribed o n its magnif­ icent gilded frame. O n the t o p is w r i t t e n Spring,

and o n the b o t t o m are four lines f r o m

a p o e m by the great w r i t e r of the late V i c t o r i a n age, A l g e r n o n Charles S w i n b u r n e : In a land of clear colours and stories, In a region of shadowless hours, Where earth has a garment of glories And a murmur of musical flowers. A l m a Tadema o m i t t e d the rest of the verse, w h i c h continues: In woods where the spring half uncovers The flush of her amorous face, By the waters that listen for lovers, For these is there place?

5

A l m a Tadema t o o k the verse f r o m a p o e m entitled " D e d i c a t i o n , " w h i c h S w i n b u r n e h a d w r i t t e n i n 1865 i n h o n o r of the painter E d w a r d Burne-Jones. Burne-Jones, a PreRaphaelite artist of great imaginative power, was a g o o d friend of A l m a Tadema de­ spite their m a r k e d l y different characters and artistic philosophies. T h e former, an as­ sociate of the R o y a l Academy, remained w e l l outside the B r i t i s h artistic establishment,

10

Figure 2. J . E L M S L Y I N G L I S (British) after Lawrence Alma Tadema. Bookplate. Etch­ ing. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection (uncatalogued).

whereas the latter f o l l o w e d a conservative and practical course t o fame and f o r t u n e . H o w e v e r , b o t h artists a d m i r e d Swinburne's poetry, w h i c h h a d p r o v i d e d the l i t e r a r y i m ­ petus for B r i t i s h aestheticism of the 1870s and '80s. The Aesthetic M o v e m e n t , o u t of w h i c h Burne-Jones emerged as a leading painter and designer, h a d begun i n the 1870s as a reaction against the i n d u s t r i a l l y d r i v e n m a t e r i a l i s m of m i d c e n t u r y . The m o v e m e n t d r e w i n s p i r a t i o n f r o m medieval arts and crafts as interpreted by the designer W i l l i a m M o r r i s ; f r o m the simple yet l u x u r i o u s fabrics i m p o r t e d f r o m the O r i e n t by the recently f o u n d e d L i b e r t y and C o m p a n y , L o n d o n ; and f r o m paintings and i n t e r i o r decorations by the A m e r i c a n expatriate artist James A b b o t t M c N e i l l W h i s t l e r . M a n y o f its leaders were as radical p o l i t i c a l l y and socially as they were artistically. As an A c a d e m i c i a n , classicist, and L o n d o n socialite, A l m a Tadema never belonged t o the m o v e m e n t , al­ t h o u g h he a d m i r e d its leaders, shared their ideas o n i n t e r i o r design, and often e x h i b i t e d his w o r k w i t h theirs. T h e i r influence o n his p a i n t i n g appears i n his preference for easily

II

Figure 3. E D W A R D B U R N E - J O N E S (British, 1 8 3 3 - 1 8 9 8 ) . Flora, or

Spring,

1 8 6 8 - 1 8 8 4 . O i l on canvas, 96.5 x 66 cm (38 x z 6 in.). London, Owen Edgar Gallery.

Figure 4 . L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A . The Vintage Festival, 1 8 7 0 . O i l on canvas, 7 7 x 1 7 7 cm

(30V4X 68 Yz in.). Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle 1906.

grasped subjects, his beautiful settings and models, the absence of d r a m a t i c e m o t i o n a l display, and his elegant color schemes. T h e use of literature t o evoke a m o o d rather t h a n structure a narrative was also t y p i c a l of the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t . Swinburne's " D e d i c a t i o n , " w h i c h sets the m o o d 6

for Spring,

is a b o u t beauty, decay, and the artist's melancholy task of describing beau­

t i f u l things before they are lost t o the forces of t i m e . Swinburne's final question—"For these is there place?"—is addressed t o the artist whose paintings are the "place" i n w h i c h evanescent beauty may be preserved. E m u l a t i n g Burne-Jones by r e i m a g i n i n g the past, A l m a Tadema made Spring

the "place" where the "clear colours," "shadowless

h o u r s , " flowers, and music of Swinburne's fleeting season were captured. T h e antique setting a n d details—standard i n the painter's w o r k — s e e m especially appropriate for Swinburne's nostalgic evocation o f bygone times. H o w e v e r , u n l i k e either S w i n b u r n e or Burne-Jones, A l m a Tadema was n o poet, n o r d i d he excel i n feats of i m a g i n a t i o n . H i s artistic c h a r a c t e r — o p t i m i s t i c , l i t e r a l - m i n d e d , careful, and d e s c r i p t i v e — c o u l d n o t have been further removed f r o m the r o m a n t i c a n d fantastical m e n t a l i t y o f Aesthetic

13

Figure 5. Flamens and the Family of Augustus. Frieze from south side of the Ara Pads Roman, 1 3 - 9 B.C. Carrara marble.

Augustae,

M o v e m e n t artists. N o t surprisingly, he selected the only four lines of " D e d i c a t i o n " w h i c h m i g h t be considered cheerful. They are r e m a r k a b l y close t o his personal m o t t o , "As the sun colours flowers, so art colors l i f e " (see fig. 2 ) , an altogether happier v i e w of beauty, art, and m o r t a l i t y t h a n those f o u n d i n S w i n b u r n e o r Burne-Jones. Consequently, w h i l e certain elements i n the p a i n t i n g and the p o e m seem t o m a t c h o r overlap, Spring

is m u c h more the p r o d u c t of A l m a Tadema's spirit t h a n of

Swinburne's. T h e poet's aesthetic i m a g i n a t i o n gives w a y t o the painter's aesthetic ped­ antry. T h i s is i m m e d i a t e l y apparent i n A l m a Tadema's approach t o the subject. Whereas S w i n b u r n e visualized a pastoral landscape w i t h lovers, A l m a Tadema p a i n t e d a r i t u a l procession t h r o u g h marble passageways. T h r o u g h o u t his career, he p o r t r a y e d

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Figure 6. W I L L I A M P O W E L L F R I T H (British, 1 8 1 9 - 1 9 0 9 ) . The Railway Station, 1 8 6 2 . O i l on

canvas, 116.8 x 256.5 cm (46 x 101 in.). Surrey, Royal Holloway College.

Figure 7. F R E D E R I C K ,

L O R D L E I G H T O N (British,

1 8 3 0 - 1 8 9 6 ) . The Dapknepkoria,

1874-

1876. O i l on canvas, 2 2 6 x 5 1 8 . 2 cm ( 8 9 x 2 0 4 in.). National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (Port Sunlight, Lady Lever A r t Gallery).

h i s t o r i c a l events, h u m a n passions, a n d even nature itself i n terms of rituals a n d cere­ monies. T h u s , he usually represented the changing of the seasons, one of his favorite themes, n o t , as one m i g h t expect, by means of a landscape o r s y m b o l i c female figure (see fig. 3) b u t by some procession o r dance dedicated t o the antique deity associated w i t h t h a t season. The Vintage Festival

(1870; fig. 4) celebrating Bacchus a n d the end

of summer was the first of numerous such processionals. T h e procession is one of the oldest and most h o n o r a b l e themes i n the h i s t o r y of art. Processions are f o u n d i n E g y p t i a n t o m b frescoes and o n Greek temple reliefs, o n R o m a n altars (see fig. 5) a n d i n Renaissance paintings. T h e i r i m p o r t a n c e i n art reflects their i m p o r t a n c e i n Western h i s t o r y ; processions celebrate the great religious a n d civic events of their times. L i k e numerous other ancient t r a d i t i o n s , however, religious a n d civic processions h a d gone i n t o p a r t i a l eclipse i n the first h a l f of the nineteenth century. Political r e v o l u t i o n , u r b a n i z a t i o n , and i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n h a d d i s r u p t e d the ancient cycles of feasts and anniversaries; other p o p u l a r entertainments such as theatrical pre­ sentations, expositions, and fairs p r o v i d e d c o m p e t i t i o n . I n E n g l a n d , Queen V i c t o r i a ' s c o r o n a t i o n i n 1837 was the last i m p o r t a n t state occasion for fifty years. By the 1890s, however, the governments of Europe h a d rediscovered the use­ fulness o f processions and were encouraging their revival. I n the cities, elaborate pa­ rades o f soldiery, royalty, and expensive equipages helped t o i n s t i l l p a t r i o t i c p r i d e i n the hearts of the masses. I n the countryside, where t r a d i t i o n a l society was collapsing as a result of the i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n of agriculture, o l d and faintly disreputable customs such as M a y festivals were revived i n an effort t o ease tensions. I n b o t h city a n d c o u n ­ 7

try, civic processions emphasized c o n t i n u i t y , stability, and social a n d p o l i t i c a l u n i t y — all h i g h l y desirable i n an age of s p r a w l i n g p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h , extremes of w e a l t h a n d misery, a n d constant p o l i t i c a l t u r m o i l . T h e most i m p o r t a n t state ceremonies of this pe­ r i o d i n E n g l a n d were Queen V i c t o r i a ' s jubilees celebrating the fiftieth a n d s i x t i e t h years of her reign ( i n 1887 a n d 1897), f o l l o w e d by numerous state weddings of her children a n d g r a n d c h i l d r e n a n d frequent receptions for v i s i t i n g heads of state.

8

V i c t o r i a n artists seem t o have used processions i n a parallel manner: as a means of o r d e r i n g a n d c o n t r o l l i n g c r o w d e d canvases. M i d c e n t u r y painters such as

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Figure 8. L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A . On the Road to the Temple of

Ceres: A Spring Festival, 1 8 7 9 . O i l on canvas, 89 x 53.1 cm (3 5 x zoV in.). New York, Forbes Magazine Collection.

4

Figure 9. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of procession.

W i l l i a m Powell F r i t h (see fig. 6) depicted c o n t e m p o r a r y crowds i n a l l their splendid bustle and confusion, candidly representing confrontations between r i c h and p o o r , h i g h and l o w , sophisticated L o n d o n e r and r o u g h p r o v i n c i a l . Later artists i n c l u d i n g A l m a Tadema himself (fig. 4) and Frederick, L o r d Leigh ton (see fig. 7), lined their char­ acters u p a c c o r d i n g t o age, sex, o r social f u n c t i o n , reformed their dress, idealized their features, and m a r c h e d t h e m off t o suitable destinations. The resulting sense of order, h a r m o n y , a n d grandeur satisfied b o t h artistic and p o l i t i c a l ideals. For a l o n g t i m e i t was believed t h a t the procession represented i n Spring

18

hon-

o r e d Ceres, a R o m a n f e r t i l i t y deity closely connected w i t h agriculture. T h e 1895 c o m ­ 9

p o s i t i o n appeared t o be a r e t h i n k i n g of a subject A l m a Tadema h a d first p a i n t e d i n 1879 i n On the Road

to the Temple of Ceres: A Spring

Festival

(fig. 8). B o t h pictures

are v e r t i c a l a n d depict musical maidens, garlanded revelers, and distant throngs of o n ­ lookers. T h e later p a i n t i n g m i g h t represent the actual a r r i v a l at the temple, w i t h people o n their best behavior as they approach the sanctuary. H i s t o r i c a l evidence seemed t o s u p p o r t this i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h the Cerealia. T h e scholarly A l m a Tadema h a d read de­ scriptions o f this event by the R o m a n poet O v i d w h i c h indicated t h a t i t h a d been one of the m o s t i m p o r t a n t spring festivals. I n r e p u b l i c a n R o m e i t was celebrated o n A p r i l 19 w i t h games i n the Circus M a x i m u s , near the site of the temple dedicated t o the g o d ­ dess's c u l t .

T h e details of A l m a Tadema's Spring

10

do n o t always correspond t o Ovid's

d e s c r i p t i o n , however; f o r example, he stated t h a t the celebrants always w o r e w h i t e . T h e details of Spring

d o n o t correspond closely t o w h a t is k n o w n of any other antique

festival either. A l m a Tadema shared his fascination w i t h r i t u a l w i t h the novelist and critic Walter Pater, like E d w a r d Burne-Jones a key figure i n the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t . M o r e ­ over, i n Pater's w o r k as i n A l m a Tadema's, one finds emphases o n neatness, cleanliness, p u r i t y , and refined sensuality. S t r i k i n g parallels can be d r a w n between A l m a Tadema's festival p a i n t i n g s and the numerous processional scenes i n Pater's 1885 novel the Epicurean,

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Marius

w h i c h recreates the life of an aristocratic y o u n g R o m a n d u r i n g the dec­

adence of the E m p i r e . Its l a n g u i d sensuality and m i n u t e l y described rituals struck a sympathetic note w i t h the aesthetes of i m p e r i a l L o n d o n ; A l m a Tadema w o u l d espe­ cially have a d m i r e d the range and depth of Pater's k n o w l e d g e of classical c i v i l i z a t i o n . I n the first chapter Pater describes a spring festival, the A m b a r v a l i a , t h a t i n v o l v e d a procession w i t h the flower girls, incense and w a t e r bearers, and p o r t a b l e altars f o u n d i n A l m a Tadema's Spring

(fig. 9 ) . Pater w r o t e :

Early on that [festival] day the girls of the farm had been busy in the great portico, filling large baskets of flowers plucked short from branches of apple and cherry, then in spacious bloom, to strew before the quaint images of the gods—Ceres and Bacchus and the yet more

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mysterious Dea Dia—as they passed through the fields, carried in their little houses on the shoulders of white-clad youths, who were understood to proceed to this office in perfect temperance, as pure in soul and body as the air they breathed in the firm weather of that early summer-time. The clean lustral water and the full incense-box were carried after them. The altars were gay with garlands of wool and the more sumptuous sort of blossom and green herbs to be thrown into the sacrificial fire, fresh-gathered this morning from a particular plot in the old garden, set apart for the purpose. Despite Spring's

12

resemblance t o aspects of the Cerealia and A m b a r v a l i a , there

are indications t h a t A l m a Tadema actually intended t o p o r t r a y a different spring fes­ t i v a l , the F l o r a l i a . A t least one of his critics identified the subject i n 1895

a

s

"festival

rejoicings i n h o n o u r of the Goddess of the Blossoms that usually occurred between the 2 8 t h o f A p r i l and the 2 n d of M a y . "

1 3

A c c o r d i n g t o O v i d , the Floralia, a f e r t i l i t y festival

like the Cerealia, o r i g i n a t e d i n the countryside. I n R o m e i t was d o m i n a t e d by p r o s t i ­ tutes w h o p e r f o r m e d i n the nude and sometimes fought i n g l a d i a t o r i a l contests. behavior seems far f r o m the minds of the decorous marchers i n Spring.

14

Such

N o r has the

c u l m i n a t i n g event of the games, the release of hares and goats i n the C o l i s e u m , m u c h t o d o w i t h A l m a Tadema's picture. H o w e v e r , flowers were scattered a m o n g the c r o w d s d u r i n g the F l o r a l i a , and the m u l t i c o l o r e d dresses of A l m a Tadema's w o m e n d o corre­ spond t o the ancient accounts of celebrants decked o u t i n c o l o r f u l spring fashions. I f A l m a Tadema d i d consult O v i d and Juvenal, another R o m a n author, o n the F l o r a l i a , he used their texts just as he used m o d e r n ones—selectively. T h e activities of Spring's

participants and spectators p r o v i d e the m o s t i m p o r ­

t a n t clue t o the festival's i d e n t i t y as the Floralia. The maidens and y o u n g girls i n the f o r e g r o u n d carry baskets of flowers or branches of flowering trees. M u s i c i a n s accom­ pany t h e m w h i l e spectators i n the o v e r l o o k i n g balconies salute their passage a n d shower t h e m w i t h m o r e flowers. A l t h o u g h such rituals have n o t h i n g t o d o w i t h the Floralia as recorded by O v i d and appear closer t o the A m b a r v a l i a described by Pater, i n V i c t o r i a n times they were unfailingly identified w i t h the Floralia's t r a d i t i o n a l E n ­ glish descendants: m a y i n g ceremonies. O c c u r r i n g every year o n M a y 1, these V i c t o r i a n festivals celebrated the c o m i n g of spring and the beauty of flowers w h i l e seeking t o re-

20

Figure 10. G E O R G E C R U I K S H A N K

(British, 1 7 9 2 - 1 8 7 8 ) . The First of May, 1850. Etching. Reproduced from C . Dickens, "The First of May," in Sketches by Boz ( 1 8 5 0 ; Philadelphia, 1873), °PP- P- 9 5 z

fine o r suppress the Floralia's pagan h i s t o r y and erotic r e p u t a t i o n . A c c o r d i n g t o an early V i c t o r i a n c o m p e n d i u m , The Language

and Sentiment

of

Flowers,

These May-day morning practices are generally supposed to have been the lingering re­ mains of the rites instituted by the ancients in honour of Flora. . . . In country places it was formerly the custom for lads and lasses to get up soon after midnight, and accompanied by such music as the village afforded, to walk in a body to some neighbouring wood; there they gathered as many branches and nosegays of flowers as they could carry, and then re­ turned home about sunrise in joyous procession, garlanded with flowers, and laden w i t h blossomy boughs, with which to decorate the doors and windows.

15

T h e a u t h o r feared t h a t the practice of g o i n g m a y i n g w o u l d soon fall v i c t i m t o m o d e r n -

21

Figure n . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of procession.

i z a t i o n , since "the remains of the o l d practices are . . . i n m o s t places confined t o the small chaplets of cowslips and blue bells w h i c h are borne by little t i m i d c o u n t r y girls or rosy u r c h i n s , whose y o u n g voices salute one w i t h 'Please remember the May.'

"

1 6

In

L o n d o n the festival was celebrated by chimney sweeps, whose i m p o v e r i s h e d versions of the c o u n t r y r i t u a l (see fig. 10) caused Charles Dickens t o e x c l a i m , " H o w has M a y ­ day d e c a y e d ! "

17

22

Figure 12. A [ L F R E D ] C R O W Q U I L L [ A L F R E D H E N R Y FORRESTER] (British, 1 8 0 4 - 1 8 7 2 ) . Chil­

dren's May-Day Customs. Reproduced from R. Chambers, ed., The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities . . . (London and Edinburgh, 1863), vol. 1, p. 573.

By the second h a l f of the century, however, the M a y festival was r e t u r n i n g t o city a n d c o u n t r y alike. Chambers's Book of Days a t t r i b u t e d its resurgence t o the very forces t h a t h a d b r o u g h t about its previous decline:

Amongst the Romans, the feeling of the time [spring] found vent in their Floralia, or Floral Games, which began on the 2 8 t h of April, and lasted a few days. Nations taking more or

*3

Figure 1 3 . J A M E S H A Y L L A R (British, 18 2 9 - 1 9 2 0 ) . May Day. O i l on

canvas, I O I . 6 X 152.4 cm ( 4 0 x 6 0 in.). Dallas, Private collection.

Figure 1 4 . A L E X A N D E R D E M E T R I U S G O L Z (Hungarian,b. 1 8 5 7 ) . May-

time, circa 1 8 9 3 . Reproduced from Illustrated London News 102, no. 2 8 2 4 (June 3, 1 8 9 3 ) , p. 6 7 3 .

less their origin from Rome have settled upon the ist of May as the special time for fetes of the same kind. W i t h ancients and moderns alike it was one instinctive rush to the fields, to revel in the bloom which was newly presented on the meadows and the trees; the more city-pent the population, the more eager apparently the desire to get among the flowers, and bring away samples of them; the more sordidly drudging the life, the more hearty the relish for this one day of communion with things pure and beautiful. I n Spring

18

the l i t t l e girls bearing flowers i n the forefront of the procession carry o u t the

m o s t h a l l o w e d o f English M a y rituals (fig. n ) . They m i g h t almost have been adapted f r o m Chambers's i l l u s t r a t i o n o f children's M a y D a y customs i n a c o u n t r y village (fig. 12). T h e i r presence at the front and center of the c o m p o s i t i o n clearly indicates t h a t A l m a Tadema intended t o recreate a R o m a n ancestor of the English M a y festival. A c c o r d i n g t o the critic F. G . Stephens, w h o saw the p a i n t i n g i n the spring of 1894 and again a year later, i n Spring's

o r i g i n a l c o m p o s i t i o n the m a y i n g c h i l d r e n re­

sembled Chambers's description very closely. B o t h girls and boys m a r c h e d i n the procession, the girls c a r r y i n g flowers, the boys m a k i n g music. Stephens n o t i c e d w i t h surprise t h a t A l m a Tadema h a d altered the character of the parade drastically i n the i n t e r v e n i n g m o n t h s . The male musicians h a d for the most p a r t either disappeared o r been t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o females (the three t a m b o u r i n e players i n the m i d d l e of the procession).

19

By e l i m i n a t i n g the male youths, A l m a Tadema h a d b r o u g h t Spring

into

c o n f o r m i t y w i t h a great many V i c t o r i a n paintings of M a y ceremonies w h i c h — b y em­ phasizing small female c h i l d r e n — a v o i d any suggestion of pagan i m m o r a l i t y (see figs. 1 3 , 1 4 ) . These prepubescent girls naively enjoy their i n i t i a t i o n i n t o picturesque village t r a d i t i o n . A l w a y s t r a n q u i l , shaded w i t h nostalgia and sentiment, such childish rituals evoke a distant w o r l d of t r a d i t i o n , peace, and the simple p u r i t y of c o u n t r y life. Despite the fact t h a t they were, i n reality, the usual celebrants, adolescents were excluded f r o m direct p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n such sentimentalized representations. I t w o u l d seem t h a t even the image of teenagers of b o t h sexes gathering flowers i n the w o o d s o n a spring m o r n i n g m i g h t have been considered i m m o r a l (as the practice itself certainly was considered; maying's p o t e n t i a l as an o p p o r t u n i t y for y o u t h f u l sexual ad­ ventures was one reason w h y the festivals h a d nearly been suppressed early i n the cen-

2.5

Figure 15. F O R D M A D O X B R O W N

(British, 1 8 2 1 - 1 8 9 3 ) . May Mem­ ories, 1869—1884. O i l on canvas, 4 2 x 31.8 cm (16 A x izVz in.). London, Fischer Fine Art, Ltd. T

tury).

20

A l f r e d , L o r d Tennyson hints d a r k l y at the pagan t e m p t a t i o n s o f the village M a y

festival i n his p o e m " T h e M a y Queen," published i n 1833 a n d revised i n 1 8 4 2 .

21

His

r u r a l heroine exuberantly anticipates her brief reign as M a y Queen a n d then, seven m o n t h s later o n N e w Year's Eve (another pagan h o l i d a y ) , anticipates death f r o m the (unspecified) consequences of her M a y D a y activities. I n the revised version a final verse allows her t o find C h r i s t i a n repentance and consolation before actually d y i n g i n M a r c h , the season of Easter. A few artists used the M a y festival t o illustrate a woman's t r a n s i t i o n f r o m

26

Figure 16. H U B E R T V O N H E R K O M E R (British, 1 8 4 9 - 1 9 1 4 ) . The Queen of the May, 1 8 9 2 . Re­

produced from Illustrated London News 100, no. 2 7 7 1 (May 2 8 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 6 6 4 .

c o u n t r y innocence t o sophisticated c o r r u p t i o n . F o r d M a d o x Brown's May

Memories

(fig. 15) portrays his w i f e overcome by memories evoked by the M a y blossom (hawthorne) i n her left h a n d . T h e former simple c o u n t r y g i r l appears coarsened by city life and its artificial refinements. M o r e d r a m a t i c is H u b e r t v o n H e r k o m e r ' s Queen of the May (fig. 16), based o n a chapter i n T h o m a s H a r d y ' s novel Tess of the

d'Urbervilles.

22

A t the village M a y dance Tess has encountered the t r a v e l i n g student A n g e l Clare; cor­ r u p t e d by dreams of a grander future, she returns t o her mother's d a r k , c r a m p e d cottage and life of constant t o i l . H a r d y and H e r k o m e r were describing the r u i n o u s influence o f

27

Figure 17. T H O M A S W A L T E R W I L S O N (British, 1 8 5 1 - 1 9 1 2 ) . The Bridesmaids

Wait­

ing for the Bride, 1 8 9 3 . Reproduced from Illustrated London News 103, Royal Wed­ ding Number (July 10, 1893), p. 3.

Figure 18. A R T H U R D R U M M O N D (British, 1 8 7 1 - 1 9 5 1 ) . A Roman Wedding, 1898. Oil on can­ vas, 56 x 103 cm ( 2 2 x 4 0 in.). Courtesy of Sotheby's, London.

m o d e r n sophistication and a t t a c k i n g the unreal v i s i o n of c o u n t r y l i v i n g p r o m u l g a t e d by sentimental traditionalists. Q u i t e possibly, A l m a Tadema, a L o n d o n dweller f r o m his a r r i v a l i n E n g l a n d i n 1870, h a d never seen a p r o v i n c i a l M a y ceremony. H e w o u l d have been m u c h m o r e f a m i l i a r and c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h another p u b l i c V i c t o r i a n r i t u a l i n v o l v i n g small female children, the fashionable u r b a n w e d d i n g ceremony w i t h its fleets o f flower girls. I n f o r m and f u n c t i o n the c o n t e m p o r a r y w e d d i n g closely resembled the nostalgic children's M a y ceremony. B o t h featured processions o f blossoming females laden w i t h b u d d i n g f o ­ liage, the i m p l i c i t f e r t i l i t y theme safely veiled by C h r i s t i a n r i t u a l . A w e d d i n g m a r k e d the flower girl's first p u b l i c appearance and f o r m a l l y i n i t i a t e d her progression f r o m c h i l d t o debutante t o w i f e and mother. M a y festivals m i g h t be said t o have i n i t i a t e d the same sequence m u c h more casually. Therefore, the resemblance of Spring's

flower-

bearing children t o little bridesmaids (see fig. 17) may n o t be entirely c o i n c i d e n t a l . T h e

29

former's floral w r e a t h s — c o o r d i n a t e d w i t h the contents of their baskets, all carefully sorted by c o l o r and v a r i e t y — s m a c k more of expensive florists' bouquets t h a n o f r a n ­ d o m gatherings f r o m the fields. I n fact, these qualities later induced the painter A r t h u r D r u m m o n d t o b o r r o w Spring's flower bearers t o serve i n his amusing Roman

Wedding

( 1 8 9 8 ; fig. 18). D r u m m o n d ' s flower c h i l d r e n , w h i l e e v o k i n g the innocent t r a d i t i o n s o f r u r a l life, were smartened u p t o m a t c h their glistening u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t . A l m a Tadema was n o t content simply t o glamorize the children's ceremonies, however. T h e i r older companions, c a r r y i n g flowering boughs (fig. 11), parade i n the neat lines characteristic o f w h a t was then a new type of M a y festival celebrated specif­ ically by y o u n g ladies attending i n s t i t u t i o n s of higher learning. These festivals, occur­ r i n g at the end o f the school year, m a r k e d the students' passage f r o m a state o f c h i l d i s h innocence t o w h a t their teachers h o p e d w o u l d be lives of w o m a n l y v i r t u e . Ironically, these V i c t o r i a n school festivals—still c l a i m i n g descent f r o m the F l o r a l i a — p r o m o t e d the preservation o f v i r t u e just as determinedly as the o l d pagan F l o r a l i a h a d celebrated its loss. A l l of the school festivals were distinguished by an infusion o f C h r i s t i a n r i t u a l a n d the t o t a l absence of p o t e n t i a l l y d i s t u r b i n g representatives o f the opposite sex. T h e p r o t o t y p i c a l event may have been the ancient ceremony staged at a men's college, M a g ­ dalen, at O x f o r d . I t was believed t h a t the M a g d a l e n ceremony, loosely connected w i t h f o l k t r a d i t i o n s d a t i n g back t o the Floralia, h a d replaced a C a t h o l i c mass at the t i m e of the Protestant R e f o r m a t i o n under H e n r y V I I I . H o w e v e r , like the r u r a l M a y festivals, i t h a d nearly succumbed i n the early nineteenth century, only t o be rescued a n d re­ f o r m e d i n the 1840s.

23

Every first of M a y , undergraduates c l i m b e d t o the t o p o f M a g ­

dalen Tower t o welcome the sunrise w i t h a b l o w i n g of horns, tossing of caps, and ex­ p l o s i o n o f fireworks i n h o n o r of Queen V i c t o r i a and the Prince of Wales.

24

A note o f

C h r i s t i a n solemnity was struck at 5 a.m., w h e n bells t o l l e d and the w h i t e - r o b e d c h o i r sang the Te Deum

i n L a t i n . I t was this solemn yet j o y f u l m o m e n t w h i c h the Pre-

Raphaelite painter H o l m a n H u n t selected for his m o n u m e n t a l May Morning

on Mag­

dalen Tower (fig. 19), e x h i b i t e d at the Grosvenor Gallery i n 1 8 9 1 . T h e p a i n t i n g , w i t h its masses of flowers a n d exalted choristers, emphasizes the religiosity o f the m o m e n t .

30

25

T h e first of the new, C h r i s t i a n i z e d , a n d m o r a l l y refined festivals for girls was f o u n d e d at W h i t e l a n d s College near L o n d o n i n 1 8 8 1 . I t was i n a u g u r a t e d by the famed art c r i t i c a n d O x f o r d graduate J o h n R u s k i n ( w h o t o o k a strong personal interest i n fe­ male education) i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h the school's p r i n c i p a l , the Reverend J. R Faunt h o r p e . D o i n g away w i t h prizes earned t h r o u g h c o m p e t i t i o n , the school r e w a r d e d an o u t s t a n d i n g student by electing her t o be M a y Queen. (It m u s t be r e m a r k e d t h a t Ruskin's concept of a M a y Queen distinguished by brains rather t h a n beauty was unusual.) T h e Reverend Faunthorpe described the ceremonies i n the queen's h o n o r : " F i r s t comes the procession i n t o chapel, the students singing 'For a l l T h y love a n d goodness' o r some other suitable Spring h y m n . " The chapel was filled w i t h one hundred and sixty young girls all clad in some simple dress and crowned w i t h or car­ rying flowers. . . . There is a special collect for the giver of the day's pleasure [John Rus­ kin]. . . . Procession round the small garden, weather permitting; procession through the day room and up to the dais follows, led by the last year's May Queen, headed by about twenty of the tallest students with flower wands; all do obeisance and take their seats, whereupon the last year's Queen resigns, with a pretty speech, and has a fillet of Forgetme-nots put upon her head. . . .The ballot for the May Queen then takes place, and during the time the votes are being counted the Principal makes a short address on some topic suitable to the occasion, as, for example, books—Mr. Ruskin's books; his teaching; what he wishes girls to learn, viz. how to cook, sew, and look pretty. . . . As soon as the [new] Queen can be dressed, and as soon as she and her maidens have decided to w h o m the forty volumes are to be given, all of which takes a good hour or more; time occupied by the stu­ dents in more songs, and more dances, and more glees, and solos on the piano, & c , then follows the May Queen's procession . . . all the students two and two.

26

By the early '90s the W h i t e l a n d s r i t u a l h a d become famous t h r o u g h o u t B r i t ­ a i n , a n d since m a n y of the school's p u p i l s became teachers a n d p r i n c i p a l s themselves, i t soon h a d m a n y i m i t a t o r s . For example, the H i g h School for Girls at C o r k (under M i s s M a r t i n , f r o m W h i t e l a n d s ) was able t o persuade R u s k i n t o design a Rose Queen cere­ m o n y t h a t h o n o r e d n o t only o u t s t a n d i n g students (see fig. 20) b u t also Ruskin's re­ cently deceased beloved, Rose L a Touche. The Reverend Faunthorpe rhapsodized t h a t 27

31

Figure 19.

WILLIAM

HOLMAN

HUNT

(British, 1 8 2 7 - 1 9 1 0 ) . May

Morning

on

Magdalen

Tower, 1890. O i l on canvas, 157.5 x 204.5 (62.x 80 V* in.). National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (Port Sunlight, Lady Lever A r t Gallery). c

m

these rigidly organized and rehearsed M a y festivals " t a u g h t m a n y successive genera­ tions of o u r students h o w m u c h real and keen enjoyment can be o b t a i n e d ; h o w m u c h pleasure w i t h n o sting i n i t , can be h a d f r o m simple b u t pretty dresses, w i l d flowers, dance a n d s o n g . "

28

H e f o u n d such ceremonies far superior t o t r a d i t i o n a l c o u n t r y fes­

tivals, i n w h i c h "some evil was i n t e r m i n g l e d w i t h the g o o d , and i t is the g o o d w e w a n t w i t h o u t the e v i l . "

2 9

A l t h o u g h A l m a Tadema o m i t t e d the M a y Queen, the six y o u n g ladies w i t h tree

32

Figure 20. The Cork Rose Queen and her attendants, circa 1885. Reproduced from C. Gere and G. M u n n , Artists' Jewellery: Pre-Raphaelite to Arts and Crafts (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1989), pi. 7 9 .

branches (fig. 11) i n Spring

c o u l d easily be her attendants—the t a l l girls w i t h flower

wands m e n t i o n e d by Faunthorpe. T h e i r u n b o u n d hair indicates their u n m a r r i e d status, their simple (but alas, n o t w h i t e ) dresses are i n keeping w i t h the aesthetic robes de­ signed for the W h i t e l a n d s queens, and their branches may represent the forebears o f the Rose Queen ceremony's fussily decorated flower wands. These six y o u n g ladies seem t o have made their appearance o n Spring's

canvas after 1 8 9 4 ,

a s

P

a r t

of A l m a Tadema's

m o r a l l y uplifted revision o f the c o m p o s i t i o n . Q u i t e possibly at the same t i m e , the artist

33

may have added the priest and his attendant c a r r y i n g sacred vessels t o " f o r e s h a d o w " i n the F l o r a l i a the religious aspect of the W h i t e l a n d s and M a g d a l e n festivals.

30

As for the M a y Queen, A l m a Tadema h a d perforce t o exclude her f r o m his c o m p o s i t i o n . H i s R o m a n procession heads t o w a r d the temple of F l o r a , i n w h i c h the cult statue w o u l d have represented the goddess, so that a M a y Queen, Flora's h u m a n stand-in and a medieval i n v e n t i o n at that, w o u l d have been redundant. N o r c o u l d the artist have depicted Flora herself presiding over the rites i n her h o n o r , since he confined himself t o the creation of a " r e a l " h i s t o r i c a l past rather t h a n its m y t h o l o g i c a l counterpart. T h e t h i r d i m p o r t a n t group of M a y celebrants i n Spring,

the spectators tossing

flowers o n t o the procession, derives f r o m yet another type of M a y event k n o w n as the Battle of the Flowers (see fig. 21). A late nineteenth-century correspondent for the Il­ lustrated

London

News described the C o n t i n e n t a l version of the event as f o l l o w s :

Our Artist, in his representation of this merry scene at Cannes, which has been witnessed year after year by many English visitors, including the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal family, shows that phase of the Carnival antics styled "The Battle of the Flow­ ers," where opposing rows of open carriages meet each other for an amicable conflict, the gentlemen and ladies in them pelting their friends with bouquets and showers of roses, carnations, hyacinths, violets, and other floral ammunition. The fun of this pretty mimic combat grows fast and furious with increasing excitement; whole broadsides are dis­ charged at the innocent heads and bosoms of an innocent family; and it may even happen that an explosive shell, containing a "billet-doux," is aimed at some young heart, which w i l l be kindled to warmer emotion when the missive is opened and read.

31

U n l i k e either the c o u n t r y o r school rituals, the Battle of the Flowers h a d n o c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the F l o r a l i a or English t r a d i t i o n , being C o n t i n e n t a l i n o r i g i n and C a t h o l i c i n o r i ­ e n t a t i o n . I t was an o u t g r o w t h of M a r d i Gras o r C a r n i v a l festivals preceding L e n t , fa­ mously exuberant displays of sensual excess of a l l possible k i n d s . C a r n i v a l was at this t i m e exceedingly p o p u l a r w i t h English tourists i n p u r s u i t of the sun and sin for w h i c h the Southern climate was n o t o r i o u s . M e r c h a n t s at fashionable w a t e r i n g spots such as

34

Figure 2 1 . E [ V E R A R D ? ] H O P K I N S (British, 1 8 6 0 - 1 9 2 8 ) . The Battle of Flowers at Cannes, 1889. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 9 4 , no. 2 6 0 2 (March 2, 1889), pp. 2 7 2 - 7 3 .

Cannes, N i c e , a n d M e n t o n r a p i d l y recognized the c o m m e r c i a l benefits attendant u p o n these attractions, a n d sponsored Battles t h r o u g h o u t the '80s and '90s. A l m a Tadema, 32

a frequent v i s i t o r t o these resorts, m i g h t conceivably have p a r t i c i p a t e d i n one of these events. I n 1893 Q u e e n V i c t o r i a herself reviewed the " t r o o p s " before a Battle (see fig. 22), a n d shortly thereafter such events began t o occur at English resorts. Interestingly, a " r o y a l " o r i m p e r i a l r e v i e w i n g b o x appears i n Spring (fig. 23). I n Eastbourne the pres­ ence o f policemen a n d real soldiers—as w e l l as r a i n — a t the inaugural Battle i n 1895 ensured the g o o d behavior of t w e n t y thousand spectators (see fig. 2 4 ) .

33

Those t w e n t y thousand spectators, n o t t o m e n t i o n the seemingly numberless p a i n t i n g s , p r i n t s , and w r i t t e n descriptions of M a y festivals, testify t o their e x t r a o r d i -

35

Figure 2 2 . T. A D V E S T I E R . The Queen at Florence: Watching the "Corso dei Fion' from the Palazzo Riccardi, 1893. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 102, no. 2819 (April 2 9 , 1 8 9 3 ) , p. 5!7-

Figure 2 3 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail showing the "reviewing box."

n a r y p o p u l a r i t y i n the last decades of the nineteenth century. A l m a Tadema, a c o m ­ mercially astute painter w h o k n e w his audience and patrons w e l l , must have guessed t h a t his R o m a n M a y festival w o u l d be enormously successful w i t h the p u b l i c . H e was in fact able t o sell Spring

t o a r i c h G e r m a n banker a full year before i t was completed,

and thousands of reproductions were sold i n the f o l l o w i n g years.

34

Yet, this p a i n t i n g is

not entirely the p r o d u c t of hardheaded c a l c u l a t i o n , for A l m a Tadema was a great, fa­ mous lover of flowers, and i t seems appropriate that one of his last m a j o r paintings should celebrate their beauty, fragility, and annual renewal. As his m o t t o suggests,

37

Figure 2 4 . H O L L A N D T R I N G H A M (British, d. 1909). The Battle of Flowers at Eastbourne, 1895. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 106, no. 2924 (May 4 , 1895), p. 535-

l i g h t , flowers, art, and life are inseparable. H i s M a y festival celebrates all four. There­ fore, Spring

must be considered n o t o n l y as an image of elegant upper-class r i t u a l b u t

also as an artist's statement of personal philosophy. T h e p u b l i c display of childish female innocence w i t h i n an u r b a n setting rep­ resents a m o r a l i m p o s s i b i l i t y according t o the V i c t o r i a n w o r l d view. N o d o u b t , the daz­ z l i n g cleanness a n d whiteness of A l m a Tadema's city—especially b r i l l i a n t w h e n c o m ­ pared w i t h filthy, f o g - b o u n d L o n d o n of the 1 8 9 0 s — w o u l d have appeared equally impossible t o most V i c t o r i a n s , thus elevating the entire subject t o the realm of a distant ideal. I n V i c t o r i a n E n g l a n d y o u n g girls were kept o u t of p u b l i c life t o preserve their i n ­ nocence—here they are i n p u b l i c t o p r o c l a i m i t . T h i s is entirely i n keeping w i t h the p o ­ etic v i s i o n of Swinburne's " D e d i c a t i o n " : In the fields and the turreted cities, That cover from sunshine and rain Fair passions and bountiful pities And loves without stain.

35

39

The Importance of Details A L M A T A D E M A ' S compositions are the sums of their details. T h i s character­ istic is m o s t o b v i o u s i n his treatment of architecture. A l t h o u g h Spring is c r o w d e d w i t h arches, c o l u m n s , pediments, balconies, m o l d i n g s , railings, and the like, n o actual b u i l d i n g can be recognized. The painting's constructions defy i d e n t i f i c a t i o n as basili­ cas, temples, t r i u m p h a l arches, o r m a r k e t halls—the p u b l i c buildings one w o u l d expect t o find s u r r o u n d i n g such a richly decorated passageway. N o r can its g r o u n d p l a n be m a t c h e d w i t h any R o m a n t o w n p l a n k n o w n d u r i n g the nineteenth century. A l t h o u g h its i n t e r n a l relationships are governed by the logic of perspective, the space is purely i m a g i n a r y , defined by richly o r n a m e n t e d freestanding.

screen walls t h a t m i g h t as w e l l

be

36

A l t h o u g h A l m a Tadema's architecture was n o t founded i n the real w o r l d , i t h a d other sources: the i l l u s i o n i s m of the c o n t e m p o r a r y theatrical stage set and the t r o m p e l'oeil w a l l p a i n t i n g s t h a t h a d been discovered at Pompeii as early as the eigh­ teenth century. A l m a Tadema h a d designed h i s t o r i c a l stage sets for i m p o r t a n t Shake­ spearean p r o d u c t i o n s i n L o n d o n i n the 1880s. Distinguished by their archaeological v e r i s i m i l i t u d e , his designs satisfied the V i c t o r i a n taste for spectacle t h a t f o u n d other outlets i n p a n t o m i m e s , charades, and ceremonial processions, and i n the great t r a v e l i n g p a n o r a m a s t h a t depicted exotic locales and i m p o r t a n t events. L i k e a stage set,

Spring's

architecture forms a r i g i d l y three-dimensional perspective b o x w i t h numerous en­ trances a n d exits and adequate spaces for p r i n c i p a l actors, secondary players, and a chorus of extras. I n fact, i t is easy t o envision Spring as a theatrical scene o r p u b l i c pan­ t o m i m e , o r even as the m o m e n t w h e n the guests descended the grand staircase t o dinner at one o f the lavish costume balls A l m a Tadema favored. M o s t Pompeiian w a l l p a i n t ­ ings e m p l o y e d the same scenographic perspective as stage sets. The elaborate Pom­ p e i i a n F o u r t h Style (see fig. 25) mixes real architectural forms i n t o fantastic c o m b i ­ nations a n d b o l d l y juxtaposes large-scale foreground details w i t h distant vignettes of

40

Figure 25. Fourth-Style fresco, Roman, Pompeii, first century A. D . 205 x 172 cm ( 8 o / x 67 V in.). Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale 9 7 3 1 . 3

4

4

h a l l u c i n a t o r y clarity. O n e finds the same m i x t u r e i n A l m a Tadema's c o m p o s i t i o n (fig. 23). Its t a l l , p a v i l i o n l i k e spaces are especially reminiscent of the Pompeiian fantasies. T h e result is eerily c o n v i n c i n g a n d supremely decorative, i f n o t i n the least b i t real. Details give Spring

n o t only f o r m b u t also color and focus. The basic stage set

is w h i t e , a n d the actors wear pale-colored gowns, so the w h o l e w o u l d be impossibly b l a n d w i t h o u t the a d d i t i o n of scarlet and purple flowers, y e l l o w garlands, green mala­ chite, spotted marbles, acidic bronzes, and Pompeiian red w a l l s . The viewer's eye roams f r o m one spot of color t o another, beginning w i t h the b r i l l i a n t scarlet poppies carried i n the forefront of the procession, w h i c h call immediate a t t e n t i o n t o the flower girls and, consequently, t o the m a y i n g theme. Colors become increasingly subtle o r m o r e w i d e l y dispersed the farther they are f r o m front and center. I n the m i d d l e dis­ tance, for example, the subdued red w a l l s of the " r o y a l b o x " also attract o u r a t t e n t i o n b u t less insistently t h a n the poppies. Red is p i c k e d up again by a few more flowers d r o p ­ p i n g f r o m the upper balcony, t a k i n g the viewer's eye u p , at last, t o the unrelieved ex­ panse of blue sky, t o rest before descending again t o the massed colors and forms of the l o w e r half. I n contrast t o the t i g h t l y c o n t r o l l e d areas of local color, great walls and col­ u m n s o f n e u t r a l l y colored marbles—gray, rose, and tan—are located i n the m i d d l e reg­ ister of the p a i n t i n g , h e l p i n g t o soften the stage set's r i g i d l y schematic design. T h e y also soften distinctions between figures and b a c k g r o u n d i n the m i d d l e distance, thus p r o ­ v i d i n g a f o i l for the strong contrasts between colorful flower girls and stark w h i t e mar­ ble i n the f o r e g r o u n d . A l m a Tadema's d i s t r i b u t i o n of colored details across an essen­ t i a l l y m o n o c h r o m a t i c p a i n t i n g tells us h o w t o l o o k at i t . A l o n g the way, one grasps the overall subject a n d begins t o recognize the archaeological antecedents and thematic significance o f i n d i v i d u a l items. T h e r e m a i n i n g details consist p r i m a r i l y of encrusting o r n a m e n t a t i o n . These p r o v i d e m o r e t h a n d e c o r a t i o n . Since many of t h e m are based o n real antiquities, they also help t o convince us o f the a u t h e n t i c i t y of the h i s t o r i c a l setting. M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , i n various ways they e x p a n d o n the painting's subject o r a d d surprising n e w levels o f meaning to it. Flowers constitute the m o s t obvious and i m p o r t a n t of the painting's details, as

42.

befits a celebration i n h o n o r of their presiding goddess. Equally t o the p o i n t , the artist loved t h e m . A l m a Tadema's private garden was famous i n L o n d o n for its fine flowers; significantly, i t c o u l d be entered t h r o u g h doors o p e n i n g off his studio. The artist even w o r e flowers w h e n the occasion w a r r a n t e d , n o t a b l y at costume parties, w h i c h he some­ times attended garbed i n a toga a n d a w r e a t h of bluebells. A l o n g w i t h Spring, 37

The Oleander

(1882;

Private collection) and The Roses of Heliogabalus

(1888;

both

France,

Private collection) are b u i l t a r o u n d flowers—real ones t h a t the artist kept i n his house (oleander) o r i m p o r t e d at great expense f r o m a b r o a d (roses). Flowers appear as dec­ orative accessories i n m o s t of A l m a Tadema's paintings. Those i n Spring may w e l l have come f r o m his garden o r f r o m photographs collected over the years (see figs.

26-28).

H i s a d m i r a t i o n for t h e m is evident i n every m i n u t e , carefully described petal and leaf. Poppies, daffodils, calla lilies, j o n q u i l s , forget-me-nots, h a w t h o r n e , and cherry and ap­ ple blossoms as w e l l as i v y are readily identifiable. Appearance mattered m o r e t o the artist t h a n other h o r t i c u l t u r a l issues such as seasonality o r h i s t o r i c a l accuracy. Before the change of the English calendar i n the m i d ­ dle of the eighteenth century, M a y D a y fell o n w h a t is n o w M a y 9, w h e n f l o w e r i n g plants and shrubs were b l o o m i n g i n abundance. Particular b l o o m s , especially the h a w ­ t h o r n e o r mayflower, were closely associated w i t h the theme of springtime and, i n Eng­ l a n d , w i t h M a y festivals. Chambers's Book of Days mentions t h a t " f l o w e r i n g boughs" as w e l l as flowers figured i n the r u r a l English ceremonies. W h e n the h o l i d a y began t o be celebrated eight days earlier, however, very few buds h a d opened, and some cere­ monies, such as those at W h i t e l a n d s , h a d t o make do w i t h evergreens.

38

Seasonal ac­

curacy therefore does n o t e x p l a i n the p r o l i f e r a t i o n of floral varieties i n Spring.

Histor­

ical precedent cannot justify i t either, since the varieties strewn by the ancient R o m a n s — v e t c h , l u p i n , a n d beans—are absent. W h a t the gathering of seasonally i m ­ possible c o m b i n a t i o n s does reflect is V i c t o r i a n tastes for hothouse gardening and importations.

39

T h e artist may have selected certain flowers for their b r i l l i a n t colors o r sym­ b o l i s m rather t h a n f o r their appropriateness t o the season. I n t r a d i t i o n a l iconographies of flowers, s u m m e r - b l o s s o m i n g poppies are l i n k e d w i t h o b l i v i o n , w h i l e forget-me-nots

43

Figure 2 6 . Unknown photographer. Plum Blossom, late nineteenth century. Birming­ ham University Library, Alma Tadema Col­ lection 9 3 4 3 - 1 9 1 5 . Figure

27. FREDERICK

HOLLYER.

Calla

Lilies, late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 9283-1915.

Figure 2 8 . Unknown photographer. Apple Blossom, late nineteenth century. Birming­ ham University Library, Alma Tadema Col­ lection 9 3 1 9 - 1 9 1 5 .

Figure 2 9 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of lower left edge.

(and i v y ) suggest remembrance, a l l suitable t o the themes of Swinburne's " D e d i c a ­ tion."

4 0

I n the elaborate s y m b o l i c language of flowers w h i c h the V i c t o r i a n s developed

i n t o a h i g h art, daffodils and j o n q u i l s represented declarations of l o v e . T h e i r s y m b o l i c 41

message w o u l d have been appropriate for b o t h the c o n t e m p o r a r y C o n t i n e n t a l Battle of the Flowers a n d the ancient Floralia. I t is possible b u t n o t certain t h a t A l m a Tadema k n e w their significance and i n c l u d e d t h e m i n Spring t o suggest some of M a y Day's a m ­ orous pleasures. (As w e shall see, this is certainly the case w i t h other details i n the p a i n t ­ ing.) U n f o r t u n a t e l y , attempts t o find suitable symbolic interpretations for a l l of the flowers i n c l u d e d i n the c o m p o s i t i o n are d o o m e d t o failure. The h a w t h o r n e , f o r ex­ ample, represents hope, a n d the lily, p u r i t y

4 2

A few specimens, such as the calla lilies i n

the h a i r of a spectator at the far left (fig. 29), seem t o have n o f u n c t i o n b e y o n d o r n a ­ m e n t a t i o n . Lilies h a d come i n t o vogue i n L o n d o n d u r i n g the height of the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t i n the 1870s and early '80s—as h a d the red hair of the w o m a n w h o wears t h e m i n Spring.

T h e i r m a i n purpose w i t h i n the context of the p a i n t i n g w o u l d therefore

have been t o suggest "fashionable artistic beauty" t o a V i c t o r i a n audience. Flowers play a p r i m a r i l y aesthetic role i n Spring.

Beautiful themselves, they

beautify the p a i n t i n g , c o l o r i n g n o t only life b u t also art. They are unreliable symbols o r h i s t o r i c a l signposts, these being their secondary functions. A l m o s t the opposite is true f o r the m a j o r i t y of Spring's

other details. M a n y are relatively undistinguished o b ­

jects whose appearance A l m a Tadema felt n o o b l i g a t i o n t o reproduce exactly. O r he placed identifiable famous objects i n bizarre contexts. These details serve p r i m a r i l y t o develop further themes related t o the M a y festival: its h i s t o r i c a l t r a d i t i o n , its musicality, a n d its character as a f e r t i l i t y rite. Sculpture a n d architectural ornaments locate A l m a Tadema's festival i n an­ cient R o m e . I f he h a d left his g l e a m i n g marble walls and columns bare, i t w o u l d be dif­ ficult t o determine w h e t h e r the b u i l d i n g s , shiny and new, h a d been constructed i n the first century A . D . o r the nineteenth. These elements m i g h t easily have belonged t o the entrance h a l l o f an i m p o s i n g L o n d o n house (such as A l m a Tadema's o w n residence) o r the facade o f an i m p e r i a l b a n k o r government office. Fortunately, A l m a Tadema sup­ p l i e d concrete i n f o r m a t i o n o n the spandrel and architrave of the archway at center left

46

(fig. 3 0 ) . T h e arch carries b o t h an i n s c r i p t i o n and a relief. A l t h o u g h p a r t i a l l y obscured, the i n s c r i p t i o n is identifiable. I t is taken f r o m the dedication of the A r c h of Trajan i n Benevento. T h i s famous ancient m o n u m e n t , located about 130 miles southeast of R o m e , was v o t e d by the Senate i n A . D . 114 t o c o m m e m o r a t e the opening of the A p p i a n Way. I t was n o t c o m p l e t e d u n t i l the reign of Trajan's successor, the emperor H a d r i a n (r. 1 1 7 - 1 3 8 ) . A l m a Tadema may have copied the t e x t f r o m a p h o t o g r a p h of the arch w h i c h he k e p t i n his extensive c o l l e c t i o n of images of antique architecture and art (fig. 31). A t least one of Spring's t i n g is H a d r i a n ' s R o m e .

1895 critics n o t i c e d this clue, correctly stating t h a t the set­

43

A l m a Tadema d i d n o t choose H a d r i a n at r a n d o m . H e was the only R o m a n em­ peror t o visit B r i t a i n ( i n A . D . 122), and he left at least one m o n u m e n t , the enormous w a l l d i v i d i n g R o m a n B r i t a i n f r o m the n o r t h e r n tribes i n w h a t is n o w Scotland. A l m a Tadema h a d c o m m e m o r a t e d this visit i n another p a i n t i n g , Hadrian iting a Roman-British

Pottery

(1884)

4 4

in England:

Vis­

T h e emperor was famous as an amateur ar­

chitect and p a t r o n o f the arts as w e l l as for his extensive travels a r o u n d the R o m a n E m ­ pire, c o n s o l i d a t i n g the conquests and annexations of his predecessors and pacifying his subjects. A l m a Tadema may have believed t h a t Hadrian's reign was the logical t i m e for B r i t a i n t o have accepted aspects of R o m a n culture, i n c l u d i n g Floralia celebrations. T h e spandrel relief directly b e l o w the dedicatory i n s c r i p t i o n also supplies i n ­ f o r m a t i o n a b o u t the date of Spring's

festival. I n actual R o m a n arches, the spandrel usu­

ally bore one figure, often—as here—a river g o d h o l d i n g a vase spilling water. A l m a Tadema seems t o have depended o n a p h o t o g r a p h of the A r c h of Constantine (fig. 3 2) for his river g o d . Usually dated A . D . 312/315, m u c h later t h a n Trajan's A r c h , the A r c h of Constantine postdates H a d r i a n . A n d , a l t h o u g h i t incorporates relief fragments f r o m a H a d r i a n i c arch, the river g o d is n o t a m o n g t h e m

4 5

By m a r r y i n g architectural fragments separated by t w o h u n d r e d years, A l m a Tadema seems t o have c o m m i t t e d a serious anachronism. H e c o m p o u n d e d his crime by i n s e r t i n g f a r m animals i n t o the spandrel space n o r m a l l y reserved for gods and al­ legorical figures. H o w e v e r , the sheep and c o w can be u n d e r s t o o d as heavenly beings of a sort, since they represented the m o n t h s of A p r i l (Ares) and M a y (Taurus) i n the R o -

47

Figure 3 0 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of architecture at upper left.

Figure 3 1 . Unknown photographer. The Arch of Trajan, Benevento, late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 8 0 3 9 - 1 9 1 5 .

Figure 3 2. Unknown photographer. Detail of the Arch of Constantine, late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 8 0 5 2 - 1 9 1 5 .

m a n zodiacal calendar. A calendar stone e x h i b i t e d at the archaeological m u s e u m i n Naples i n the nineteenth century used reliefs of a sheep a n d c o w t o m a r k these t w o m o n t h s (fig. 3 3 ) .

4 6

Interestingly enough, this calendar gives the tutelary deities o f

each—Venus f o r A p r i l a n d A p o l l o for M a y — r e m i n d i n g us once again of

Spring's

themes of love a n d music. M o r e o v e r , the calendar lists the p r i n c i p a l M a y festivals as " s a c r u m m e r c u r et florae" (sacred t o M e r c u r y and Flora). Since the Floralia actually began i n A p r i l a n d ended i n M a y , A l m a Tadema was justified i n i n c l u d i n g the zodiac symbols f o r b o t h i n Spring.

H e may have h o p e d to eliminate possible confusion w i t h

the Cerealia, w h i c h o c c u r r e d i n A p r i l , o r the A m b a r v a l i a , celebrated later i n M a y . T h e r e m a i n i n g details i d e n t i f y i n g t i m e and place i n the p a i n t i n g suffered i m -

49

Figure 3 3 . F E R D I N A N D O M O R I (Italian, b. circa 1775). A Roman Calendar Stone, circa 1836. Etching, 13.3 x 22.9 cm (5 % x 9 in.). Reproduced from A Guide in the National Museum of Na­ ples and Its Principal Monuments Illustrated (Naples, [circa 1836]), pi. 26.

provements t o satisfy the artist's narrative requirements. Take, for example, the m a r b l e relief of a g a r l a n d of flowers and f r u i t located just b e l o w the " r o y a l b o x " (fig. 2 3 ) . As w i t h the details f r o m the arches of Constantine and Trajan, this relief is based o n a p h o ­ t o g r a p h i n A l m a Tadema's c o l l e c t i o n (fig. 34), w h i c h reveals t h a t the o r i g i n a l existed i n r u i n o u s c o n d i t i o n , m o r e t h a n h a l f lost. Despite this, i t also is the R o m a n p r o t o t y p e for the garlands slung between columns o n the left of the picture and carried o n stan­ dards i n the center. T h e o r i g i n a l relief was never intended t o decorate a b u i l d i n g , since i t o r i g i n a l l y f o r m e d one side of a sarcophagus.

47

A l s o d i s t u r b i n g are the t r a n s f o r m a ­

tions the artist w r o u g h t u p o n the t w o bronze equestrian sculptures visible t h r o u g h "Trajan's" archway. (The m o r e distant of the t w o is almost immersed i n the sea of spec-

50

Figure 34. Unknown photographer. Roman Marble Relief Fragment, late nineteenth cen­ tury. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 11825-1915.

tators' heads. ) T h e antique p r o t o t y p e s , excavated at H e r c u l a n e u m i n the eighteenth century, were a m o n g the m o s t famous of R o m a n equestrian statues. T h e y p o r t r a y e d t w o o f the town's leading citizens, M a r c u s N o n i u s Balbus and his son of the same name.

48

A l m a Tadema, w h o kept a d r a w i n g of each i n his c o l l e c t i o n ,

49

must have seen

the originals d u r i n g visits t o Naples, Pompeii, and H e r c u l a n e u m . So he w o u l d have k n o w n t h a t the originals are of m a r b l e , n o t bronze, and t h a t one, like the sarcophagus, survived i n very p o o r c o n d i t i o n . I f they have any narrative f u n c t i o n at all, these statues help t o identify the vista i n Spring

as an i m p o r t a n t p u b l i c space. Since marbles w o u l d

have fulfilled this f u n c t i o n just as effectively, A l m a Tadema may have t r a n s m u t e d his models i n t o bronze for aesthetic reasons, so t h a t they w o u l d stand o u t clearly against the m a r b l e columns a n d facades. A t this p o i n t i t is w o r t h pausing t o consider the havoc A l m a Tadema created w i t h art a n d h i s t o r y i n these four details alone. For a l l his archaeological k n o w l e d g e , he showed l i t t l e respect for archaeological t r u t h s . H i s attitude t o w a r d a n t i q u i t y is i l ­ l u m i n a t e d by his treatment of his p h o t o g r a p h collection. H i s hundreds of photographs of antiquities are meticulously sorted and indexed according t o subject; p o r t f o l i o s are devoted t o " p o r t r a i t s , m e n " o r " t r i u m p h a l arches" o r " R o m a n a n i m a l s c u l p t u r e . "

50

T h i s m e t h o d of o r g a n i z a t i o n , w h i c h clearly grew o u t of the painter's artistic process,

51

Figure 35. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail showing flute player in lower right corner.

Figure 3 6. Unknown photographer. Roman Statue, Terminal Figure, late nineteenth cen­ tury. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 11754-1915.

Figure 3 7 . J O H N

REINHARD

WEGUELIN

(British, 1849—1927). "Heard Melodies Are Sweet; But Those Unheard Are Sweeter" circa 1892. Oil on canvas. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 100, suppl. (May 7 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 8.

enabled h i m t o locate appropriate m o t i f s as needed. Since few of the photographs are i n d i v i d u a l l y identified, however, i t also made egregious anachronisms possible, such as c o m b i n i n g objects made hundreds of years—and m i l e s — a p a r t o r using t h e m i n con­ texts u n i m a g i n e d i n ancient R o m e . H o w e v e r , these "mistakes" resulted n o t f r o m i g ­ norance, f o r A l m a Tadema was indeed learned, b u t rather f r o m choice. H i s artistic needs far o u t w e i g h e d archaeological considerations, unless, of course, the archaeolog-

53

ical facts i n some w a y c o n t r i b u t e d t o his w o r k . I n fact, his transformations of a n t i q u i t y are themselves artistic acts—the creation of recognizable yet u n f a m i l i a r new objects, n e w b e a u t i e s — f r o m the f a m i l i a r w o r k s of the past. A l m a Tadema m a n i p u l a t e d a n t i q ­ u i t y just as he m a n i p u l a t e d color, space, and f o r m , i n order t o create distinctive, m o d ­ ern w o r k s o f art. T h e game of i d e n t i f y i n g his antique sources and n o t i n g their trans­ f o r m a t i o n s is therefore n o t simply a h u n t for errors b u t the proper approach t o a p p r e c i a t i n g A l m a Tadema's artistic taste and cleverness. H i s talents are fully displayed i n the details of Spring t h a t p e r t a i n t o music, like flowers one of the great loves of his life. H i s weekly "at homes" for friends and patrons were famous for the q u a l i t y of the musical entertainment, p r o v i d e d by some of L o n ­ don's finest musicians. I n Spring the musical theme crops up i n some surprising places, b e g i n n i n g w i t h Swinburne's reference t o " m u s i c a l flowers" o n the frame. T h e poet's u n ­ usual c o m b i n a t i o n o f ideas reminds us t h a t silent objects can possess musical qualities. By scattering musical details across his c o m p o s i t i o n , A l m a Tadema called a t t e n t i o n t o the r h y t h m i c sway a n d pace of the marchers, the color harmonies of the flowers, and the subtle tones of m a r b l e and bronze. T h e m o s t p r o m i n e n t musical details are the music makers themselves. T h e y o u n g female flute player leading the procession (fig. 35) seems t o have been inspired by a R o m a n t e r m i n a l figure of a bearded male flute player (fig. 3 6) of w h i c h A l m a Tad­ ema k e p t a p h o t o g r a p h filed i n his collection under "statues, m a l e . " The R o m a n figure 51

already h a d made an appearance i n a p a i n t i n g by A l m a Tadema's colleague and i m i ­ t a t o r J o h n R e i n h a r d W e g u e l i n e n t i t l e d "Heard heard Are Sweeter"

Melodies

Are Sweet; But Those

Un­

(fig. 37), e x h i b i t e d at the N e w Gallery, L o n d o n , i n 1 8 9 2 .

The

52

statue is featured there along w i t h a nude female and a flowering bush. T h e sentiment expressed by Weguelin's t i t l e is altogether appropriate t o a p a i n t i n g whose music m u s t be silent, a n d A l m a Tadema seems t o have b o r r o w e d i t unashamedly, a l t h o u g h he dis­ guised the statue as a h u m a n female i n Spring.

H e saved himself the necessity of i n ­

v e n t i n g legs by h a v i n g the l o w e r edge of the canvas cut her figure off at m i d t h i g h . T h e n e x t p r o m i n e n t musical figure i n Spring's

procession is the y o u n g pipe

player i n the m i d s t o f the flower girls (fig. 38). H i s pose seems loosely modeled after a

54

Figure 3 8 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of panpipe player at bottom left.

Figure 3 9 . Unknown photographer. Faun, Fresco Painting, Pompeii, late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 11448-1915.

Figure 4 0 . Sistrums and cymbals found in the Temple of Isis, Pompeii, Roman, circa A . D . 7 9 . Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale. Reproduced from M . Grant, The Art and Life of Pompeii and Herculaneum (New York, 1979), p. 7 6 . Figure 4 1 . Bronze wind instrument, Ro­ man, circa A . D . 7 9 . Reproduced from Grant i 9 7 9 P. 77?

Figure 4 2 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail showing priest and tambourine player near center.

Pompeiian fresco i n the M u s e o A r c h e o l o g i c o N a t i o n a l e , Naples (fig. 3 9 ) .

53

Some o f the

Pompeiian satyr's enigmatic q u a l i t y remains i n A l m a Tadema's figure, the last s u r v i v o r of the adolescent males i n c l u d e d i n the first version of his c o m p o s i t i o n . T h e y o u n g m a n does n o t play the simple reed panpipes associated w i t h shepherds and satyrs, however. H i s bronze i n s t r u m e n t is o r n a m e n t e d w i t h a relief representing three shrines. A l m a Tadema copied this relief f r o m a fragment also i n Naples (fig. 4 0 ) . H i s reconstructed i n s t r u m e n t resembles one f o u n d at Pompeii a n d apparently used for religious cere­ monies (fig. 4 1 ) . N o t e t h a t he reversed the o r n a m e n t a l b a n d ; i f he h a d copied the i n ­ s t r u m e n t exactly, the relief w o u l d appear upside d o w n i n his p a i n t i n g .

54

D i r e c t l y b e h i n d the pipe player, three y o u n g w o m e n (boys i n the o r i g i n a l c o m ­ p o s i t i o n ) play t a m b o u r i n e s . One holds her i n s t r u m e n t up beside her r i g h t ear (fig. 4 2 ) , m i r r o r i n g the carved t a m b o u r i n e - p l a y i n g maenad decorating a pilaster capital f r o m the H o u s e o f the Figured Capitals i n Pompeii (fig. 43 ) .

55

A l m a Tadema reproduced this

face of the capital itself i n the upper r i g h t corner of his p a i n t i n g , as usual w i t h i m p r o v e ­ ments (fig. 4 5 ) . Its o r i g i n a l crude m a t e r i a l , p r o b a b l y tufa, has been translated i n t o fine m a r b l e , a n d the b l o c k y c a r v i n g of the o r i g i n a l (once covered w i t h stucco) appears crisper a n d m o r e refined i n the p a i n t i n g . A l m a Tadema also reproduced the capital's other f a c e — s h o w i n g a satyr w i t h panpipes (fig. 4 4 ) — t h u s s p l i t t i n g the o r i g i n a l capital bear­ i n g t w o images i n t o t w o capitals w i t h one image each—stretching his resources, so t o speak. T h e satyr w i t h panpipes recalls the shepherd i n A l m a Tadema's procession (fig. 38). T h e d e c o r a t i o n of the t a m b o u r i n e s comes f r o m yet another source, again a Pom­ peiian fresco. T h i s t i m e A l m a Tadema adapted a panel f r o m the w a l l decoration of the then recently excavated House o f the V e t i i (fig. 4 6 ) , loosening the embrace of the satyr a n d maenad so they fit the c i r c u l a r field. H e i n t r o d u c e d a spray of apple or cherry blos­ 56

som t o conveniently cover the u n d r a p e d p o r t i o n of the male figure. I f Spring's

musical details are for the most p a r t s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d , its erotic ele­

ments are disguised, h i d d e n , and obscure. They c o u l d easily be passed over, as they were by one m i s g u i d e d critic w h o w r o t e t h a t A l m a Tadema " i m p r o v e d o n the de­ m e a n o r of the populace: his actors i n the scene presenting none of the licentious re­ joicings t h a t accompanied the festival celebrations i n h o n o u r of the Goddess of the

59

Figure 4 3. Unknown photographer. Capital of Pilaster, Pompeii, late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tad­ ema Collection 8175-1915.

Figure 4 4 . Unknown photographer. Capital of Pilaster, Pompeii (Oblique View), late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 8 1 7 4 1915.

Blossoms. . . . There is here n o h i n t of the 'excessive m e r r i m e n t , d r i n k i n g , and lasciv­ ious games;' a l l is perfectly respectable."

57

The perceptive F. G . Stephens n o t e d t h a t the

m a t e r i a l was there " f o r those w h o care for such things," a l t h o u g h clearly he d i d n o t . T h e satyrs a n d maenads w h o crop u p i n Spring

58

as m i n o r details already have

been n o t e d . These m y t h o l o g i c a l creatures were believed t o i n h a b i t hills and w o o d e d areas. Satyrs, p a r t h u m a n a n d p a r t goat, followers of the great g o d Pan, lived i n a state of constant sexual readiness. T h e i r sly assaults o n various humans and goddesses con­ s t i t u t e d their p r i n c i p a l c l a i m t o fame i n the annals of classical m y t h o l o g y . M a e n a d s re­ sembled h u m a n females b u t lived i n the w i l d , i n packs, protected by Bacchus, the g o d of w i n e . W h e n overcome by frenzy, they w o u l d tear apart any h u m a n male u n f o r t u n a t e

60

Figure 4 5 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of architecture at upper right.

Figure 4 6 . Unknown photographer. Wall Painting, Pompeii, late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tad­ ema Collection 11462—1915.

enough t o cross their p a t h . Satyrs a n d maenads together frequently p a r t i c i p a t e d i n var­ ious bacchic rites, representing the state of physical and e m o t i o n a l abandon sought by the h u m a n celebrants. B o t h creatures represent the sexual dangers (or o p p o r t u n i t i e s , depending o n one's p o i n t of v i e w ) l u r k i n g i n the w o o d s , presumably a w a i t i n g M a y cel­ ebrants i n n o c e n t l y gathering flowers. A l o n g w i t h the satyrs a n d maenads depicted o n the m u s i c a l capitals a n d t a m b o u r i n e , A l m a Tadema p a i n t e d others c a v o r t i n g o n the t w o roundels a t o p the left-hand processional standard (fig. 30). As usual, these figures were t a k e n f r o m Pompeiian w a l l frescoes, again i n the Naples museum. Satyrs also ap­ pear o n the bronze relief directly b e l o w the " r o y a l b o x " (fig. 23). These are based o n one of A l m a Tadema's p h o t o g r a p h s of a R o m a n o r i g i n a l , w h i c h he transposed f r o m m a r b l e i n t o bronze (fig. 4 7 ) . Silver sculptures of satyrs are actually borne i n the Spring

62

parade itself (figs.

Figure 4 7 . Unknown photographer. Relief, Satyrs at a Fountain, late nineteenth century. Bir­ mingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 11821-1915.

9 , 4 8 ) . T h e y appear o n each side of the central t a m b o u r i n e player, immediately i n f r o n t of the t w o standard bearers as the procession rounds the corner. Each satyr carries a basket o f f r u i t and has an i n f a n t Bacchus r i d i n g o n his shoulder. L i k e the figure of the flute player, these satyrs are based o n R o m a n t e r m i n a l sculptures available t o the artist i n b o t h full-length a n d detail photographs (figs. 4 9 , 50). Once more he cleverly evaded the necessity of i n v e n t i n g feet and refined relatively crude materials and w o r k m a n s h i p . T h u s , w h a t m u s t once have been garden decorations were t i d i e d up for n e w roles i n a sophisticated u r b a n r i t u a l . Finally, one satyr has infiltrated the parade. H e is, of course, the sole r e m a i n i n g male m u s i c i a n — a satyr i n shepherd's c l o t h i n g . H i s l o n g nose, mysterious eyes, and h a i r swept up above his ears like little horns betray his origins, as do his panpipes (fig. 38). T h e maidens s u r r o u n d i n g h i m seem unaware of his presence; satyrs are rarely n o t i c e d

63

figure 48. LAWRENCE A L M A TADEMA. Spring, detail showing silver statue near center.

Figure 5 0 . Unknown photographer. Statue, Satyr and Infant Bacchus Looking Right (Close Up), late nineteenth century. Bir­ mingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 9 6 0 6 - 1 9 1 5 .

Figure 4 9 . Unknown photographer. Statue, Satyr and Infant Bacchus Looking Left, late nineteenth century. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 9 6 0 5 1915.

u n t i l i t is almost t o o late. T h e presence of satyrs usually indicates t h a t innocence is threatened i f n o t al­ ready lost. I n p a i n t i n g , the theme of naked y o u n g w o m e n resisting o r fleeing amorous satyrs enjoyed a venerable t r a d i t i o n . I f the silver statues i n Spring represent the g o d Pan (as the critic F. G . Stephens b e l i e v e d ) rather t h a n simply t w o satyrs, then one of m y ­ 59

thology's p r i n c i p a l offenders is featured there. I n nineteenth-century E n g l a n d this sub­ ject sometimes received m o r e realistic b u t nevertheless suggestive treatment. T h u s , one finds a w h o l e genre o f " g i r l - a n d - g o a t " paintings, such as M . Bernard's Springtime

(fig.

51), w i t h its suspiciously friendly b i l l y goat. Perhaps the subtlest example of the genre

65

Figure 5 1 . M . B E R N A R D . Springtime, circa 1890. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 9 6 , no. 2 6 5 0 (April 5, 1890), p. 4 3 2 .

Figure 5 2 . J A M E S T I S S O T (French, 1 8 3 6 -

1902). The Gardener, circa 1 8 7 9 . O i l on canvas. Reproduced from J . Laver, "Vulgar Society": The Romantic Career of James Tis­ sot 1836—1902

is James Tissot's Gardener

(London, 1 9 3 6 ) , pi. 2 2 .

(fig. 5 2), i n w h i c h an u r b a n garden has replaced the w o o d s ,

a n d Pan is represented by a m a r b l e sculpture. A gardener kneels before h i m as if i n w o r ­ ship, w h i l e a handsome, well-dressed w o m a n (in fact the artist's mistress) and a y o u n g g i r l l o o k o n . T h e atmosphere of sexual tension anticipates D . H . Lawrence's Chatterley's

Lover

Lady

( 1 9 2 8 ) . Satyr w o r s h i p appears i n modest f o r m i n the w o r k of J. R.

W e g u e l i n , w h o once again a n t i c i p a t e d A l m a Tadema's use of a R o m a n sculpture i n The Toilet ofFaunus,

or Adoring

the Herm (fig. 5 3). I n fact, Weguelin copied his satyr f r o m

66

Figure 53. J O H N

REINHARD

WEGUELIN.

The Toilet ofFaunus, or Adoring the Herm, 1887. O i l on canvas, 1 0 1 . 6 x 5 8 . 4 cm (40 x 23 in.). Philadelphia, Private collection.

the same R o m a n t e r m i n a l figure A l m a Tadema used as the basis for his silver statues i n Spring

(figs. 4 9 , 50). O n the C o n t i n e n t this theme inspired numerous suggestive i m ­

ages, c u l m i n a t i n g i n the erotic nightmares o f Felicien Rops. A l t h o u g h i n general Spring

seems t o fall squarely i n t o the "suggestive" cate­

gory, A l m a Tadema snuck an actual rape scene i n t o his picture. The relief o r n a m e n t i n g the b u i l d i n g at the far left represents the battle of the Lapiths against the centaurs, an epic m y t h i c a l c o n f r o n t a t i o n t h a t occurred at a w e d d i n g feast (fig. 30). The L a p i t h s , a

67

Figure 54a. The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs. Segment of frieze from the Temple of Apollo at Bassae, Greek, end fifth century B.C. Marble, H : 64.2 cm ( 2 5 % in.). Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum.

race o f giants, are s h o w n s t r u g g l i n g t o wrest their w o m e n f r o m the arms o f d r u n k e n centaurs. A l m a Tadema seems n o t t o have o w n e d photographs of the m a r b l e o r i g i n a l s , w h i c h decorated the i n t e r i o r of the Temple of A p o l l o at Bassae i n Greece, c o m p l e t e d a b o u t 4 0 0 B . C . (fig. 54a, b ) . H o w e v e r , he c o u l d have seen the marbles themselves i n the B r i t i s h M u s e u m — a n o t h e r favorite source of antique images for his p a i n t i n g s .

60

Satyrs, maenads, Bacchus, a n d d r u n k e n centaurs certainly subvert the V i c t o ­ r i a n primness of A l m a Tadema's M a y festival. N e i t h e r satyrs p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n a cele­ b r a t i o n o f floral beauty a n d female p u r i t y n o r bacchic decorations seem especially ap­ p r o p r i a t e t o the o c c a s i o n — o r are they? T h e answer t o this question lies i n the i n s c r i p t i o n o n the standard at the center of the c o m p o s i t i o n (fig. 55). Its p o s i t i o n tells us t h a t i t is i m p o r t a n t ; its o b s c u r i t y suggests t h a t i t is highly i m p r o p e r . T h e t w o lines of L a t i n t e x t read: " H u n c l u c u m t i b i dedico consecroque, P r i a p e , / q u a d o m u s t u a L a m p s a c i est q u a q u e . . . Priape" ( I dedicate, I consecrate this grove t o thee, / Priapus, whose h o m e a n d w o o d l a n d s are at Lampsacus).

68

61

T h e procession i n Spring

celebrates

Figure 5 4 b . The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs. Seg­ ment of frieze from the Temple of Apollo at Bassae, Greek, end fifth century B.C. Marble, H : 64.2 cm (25 V in.). Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum. 4

Priapus, the i t h y p h a l l i c g o d of nature, gardens, and fertility. I n ancient R o m e , shrines a n d altars t o Priapus o r n a m e n t e d gardens and w o o d s ; offerings of f o o d , w i n e , and gar­ lands o f flowers ensured his c o n t i n u i n g beneficence. Such a shrine, c o n t a i n i n g a t i n y statue, is depicted i n the r o u n d e l h a n g i n g directly b e l o w the L a t i n i n s c r i p t i o n i n

Spring.

J u d g i n g f r o m his frequent appearance i n frescoes and sculpture at Pompeii, Priapus was one o f the m o r e c o m m o n l y p o r t r a y e d deities i n R o m a n times. I n the p r u d i s h nine­ teenth century, however, he was almost invisible, and his presence, however subtle, i n Spring transforms the p a i n t i n g f r o m a solemn scene i n t o a racy joke. Even the character of F l o r a , the goddess of the day, changes i n association w i t h Priapus. Goddess of f l o w ­ ers, she was also the n o t o r i o u s patroness of prostitutes, w h o were a m o n g the p r i n c i p a l celebrants o f the F l o r a l i a . T h u s , even the apparent innocence of Spring's 62

parading

beauties is called i n t o question. O f course, this was a joke n o t everyone w o u l d have perceived o r u n d e r s t o o d . For the casual visitor t o the R o y a l A c a d e m y i n 1895, the painting's bacchic elements a n d nearly illegible i n s c r i p t i o n c o u l d easily have been i g -

69

Figure 55. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of standard with inscription.

n o r e d as mere " p e r i o d details." Consequently, the p a i n t i n g was less likely t o be con­ demned by reviewers—or, even worse, rejected by the hanging committee—because of its subject. D e d i c a t i n g a parade of schoolgirls t o Priapus exemplifies A l m a Tadema's sense of h u m o r — s c h o o l b o y i s h , earthy, and u n c o m p l i c a t e d . (One of his friends believed that, h a d he lived longer, he w o u l d have " a d o r e d D o n a l d D u c k . " ) Yet, A l m a Tadema's joke 6 3

leads t o deeper reflections. I n his capacity as garden deity, Priapus does belong at a fes­ t i v a l celebrating flowers. H i s presence reminds us of the true purpose of the Floralia: t o w e l c o m e the a n n u a l renewal of nature's fertility. H i s esoteric disguise points up the h o l ­ l o w , even " d e n a t u r e d " character of the V i c t o r i a n rites, w h i c h substituted artifice and hypocrisy for the R o m a n s ' frank appreciation of the facts of life. The verses t o Priapus come f r o m a fragment of a p o e m by the great A u g u s t a n satirist C a t u l l u s . L i k e S w i n b u r n e , the a u t h o r of the verses o n Spring's frame, Catullus w r o t e erotic poetry. I n the V i c t o r i a n era b o t h poets enjoyed scandalous reputations thanks t o the nature of their w o r k and the flamboyance of their semiprivate lives ( t h o u g h by the 1890s Swinburne's r e p u t a t i o n h a d cooled after many years of enforced v i r t u e i n l a b o r i o u s seclusion). B o t h were great favorites of A l m a Tadema, w h o w e n t t o considerable lengths t o i n c o r p o r a t e their w o r d s i n t o his c o m p o s i t i o n . A t first glance so convincingly real, so archaeologically exact, so beautiful and innocent, Spring

turns o u t o n closer e x a m i n a t i o n t o be illusionary, historically con­

fused, and mischievously i m m o r a l . I t w o u l d be easy at this p o i n t t o condemn A l m a Tad­ ema for sloppiness o r hypocrisy o r b o t h , and a great many m o d e r n critics, b e g i n n i n g w i t h Roger F r y i n 1913, have done just t h a t .

64

They have i g n o r e d — o r refused t o ac­

cept—the fact t h a t A l m a Tadema deliberately sought t o have i t b o t h ways, t h a t his con­ fusion o f past and present, his double entendres and double standards, his alterations of reality, are consistent w i t h his v i s i o n of his art. T h a t these purposes were rejected i n the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y — t h a t o u r standards may differ f r o m the artist's—does n o t make t h e m any less w o r t h y o f e x p l o r a t i o n . B u t i f we assume t h a t he wished t o do more t h a n p a i n t a p r e t t y a n d salable p i c t u r e , w h a t was the purpose of

71

Spring}

Art and Empire A L M A T A D E M A , w h o d i d n o t discuss his art frequently, never explained his reasons f o r p a i n t i n g Spring. Journalists f o u n d his rare pronouncements o n art, nature, beauty, a n d goodness (delivered i n a heavy D u t c h accent) less t h a n i l l u m i n a t i n g ,

65

and

their o p i n i o n is justified by the very confusing i n t r o d u c t i o n he w r o t e t o his brief essay " A r t a n d Its R e l a t i o n t o I n d u s t r y " i n 1893

6 6

H i s friends a n d critics agreed t h a t the

painter was n o philosopher. Nevertheless, his ideas o n aesthetics and morals do offer insights i n t o his p a i n t i n g s . A l m a Tadema treated art, nature, beauty, and goodness as exalted, eternal ideals t h a t existed independently of h i s t o r y or culture, being c o m m o n t o a l l h u m a n k i n d . T h o u g h he believed t h a t the role of the artist was t o present art a n d nature t o the p u b l i c i n terms o f its o w n t i m e , he distanced himself f r o m the Realists such as C o u r b e t , w h o h a d abandoned i d e a l i s m . The public's c o n t e m p l a t i o n of art a n d na­ 67

ture i n their purest f o r m s w o u l d , A l m a Tadema felt, lead t o a finer understanding of the abstract ideals of beauty a n d goodness. For A l m a Tadema, art fulfilled its m o r a l purpose by v i r t u e of its beauty rather t h a n its subject matter, w h i c h he felt t o be of secondary i m p o r t a n c e . I n one of the m o s t interesting statements he made t o j o u r n a l i s t H e l e n Z i m m e r n , he said, " O n e of the greatest difficulties i n A r t is t o find a subject t h a t is really p i c t o r i a l , plastic. . . . O f course the subject is an interesting p o i n t i n a picture, b u t the subject is merely the pre­ t e x t under w h i c h the p i c t u r e is made, therefore i t is w r o n g t o judge the picture accord­ i n g t o the s u b j e c t . "

68

I n l i g h t of his elaborate treatment of the subject of Spring,

i t seems

incredible t h a t A l m a Tadema c o u l d have described subject matter i n these terms. Yet, this apparent inconsistency can be resolved. W h e n denouncing the p r i m a c y of subject matter, A l m a Tadema h a d i n m i n d paintings of obscure historical events meaningless t o the unenlightened spectator. I n his o p i n i o n these were failures; the spectator s h o u l d be able t o understand a p a i n t i n g w i t h o u t the assistance of l o n g e x p l a n a t o r y labels o r titles. T h i s is certainly t r u e of most of A l m a Tadema's genre scenes (whose subjects have

7*

been criticized f o r their obviousness) as w e l l as his paintings (such as The

Oleander)

w i t h n o subject at a l l . T h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y e l a b o r a t i o n of paintings such as Spring

developed f r o m

A l m a Tadema's belief t h a t w h e n i t came t o beauty, m o r e was more. I n 1894

a

friend,

sometime j o u r n a l i s t Ellen Gosse, observed: "There can be no d o u b t t h a t M r . A l m a Tadema is so fascinated by the beauty of detail and of surface-painting, and so accom­ plished i n rendering i t , t h a t he sometimes loses sight of the o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n of his pic­ ture—the m o t i v e of his c o m p o s i t i o n . . . . A l s o , w i t h this great k n o w l e d g e of detail, he is i n c l i n e d t o be t o o lavish of d e c o r a t i o n . As an instance of this, a t t e n t i o n may be called t o the fact t h a t his elaborately veined and finished marbles are often the plainest parts of his p i c t u r e s — w h e r e i n perhaps lies i n some measure the secret of his great c h a r m . "

69

I t seems peculiar t h a t , despite his c o m m i t m e n t t o art t h a t captured the feeling of its t i m e , A l m a Tadema almost always p a i n t e d antique subjects. T h i s p a r a d o x is re­ 70

solved by his v i e w o f h u m a n nature and h i s t o r y ; whereas h i s t o r y consisted of a se­ quence of m o r e o r less t r i v i a l or unpleasant events rarely w o r t h remembering i n detail, h u m a n nature was the constant basis of Western c i v i l i z a t i o n . H i s friend G e o r g Ebers explained: "As soon as the sensible lover of the historic life of m a n k i n d discovers t h a t fact, he turns f r o m the p o l i t i c a l h i s t o r y of r o y a l families and governments, and per­ ceives t h a t a people's true h i s t o r y is the h i s t o r y of its c i v i l i z a t i o n , w h i c h teaches the n o r ­ m a l character o f nations, their life i n a c o n d i t i o n o f health, and he joyfully perceives h o w m u c h m o r e delightful i t is t o make himself f a m i l i a r w i t h the homes of the people t o be investigated, the regulations of their government, their c i v i l and social life, their r e l i g i o n a n d science, t h a n t o k n o w the names and b l o o d y deeds of their kings and the battles they f o u g h t . "

71

Rather t h a n p a i n t the historic, A l m a Tadema o p t e d for w h a t he

called "the h u m a n " — e x a m p l e s of h u m a n nature c o m m o n t o any and a l l h i s t o r i c a l pe­ riods. Z i m m e r n n o t e d t h a t he selected m o m e n t s i n E g y p t i a n , Greek, o r R o m a n life t h a t his fellow V i c t o r i a n s w o u l d find sympathetic or at least comprehensible.

72

His attitude

is exemplified by his defense of a p a i n t i n g s h o w i n g a queen m o u r n i n g her g r a n d c h i l ­ dren: " T h a t C l o t i l d e . . . s h o u l d have w e p t at their grave, is b u t h u m a n , and, as such, certainly h i s t o r i c . "

73

73

By p a i n t i n g c i v i l i z a t i o n — h u m a n nature i n a c t i o n , so t o s p e a k — A l m a Tadema believed t h a t he h a d f o u n d t r u l y timeless subject matter. Yet, he also f o u n d some pe­ r i o d s — t h e Greek a n d R o m a n eras—more attractive t h a n others—the M e r o v i n g i a n o r the m o d e r n . Ebers n o t e d : From the kingdom of the Franks Tadema turned . . . to Rome and Hellas, and here the progress of civilization awakened an interest that far outweighed every other. . . . So at last he could not help feeling as much at home in ancient as in modern times. The epoch of human life when the good and the beautiful, uniting, hovered before the struggling soul as the final end to be attained, was far nearer to him and offered much deeper satisfaction to his genius than his own time, when beauty is overshadowed by utility, goodness by craft, and it is considered as commendable to withdraw from nature as in ancient times it was held praiseworthy to dwell near her and live in accordance w i t h her laws. His idealistic spirit yearned to escape from a society which, like the blase, values only what is real.

74

A n c i e n t c i v i l i z a t i o n , w h i l e closely l i n k e d t o the m o d e r n by h u m a n nature and progress, was purer a n d m o r e " h u m a n . " By this logic, a p a i n t i n g of an ancient subject w o u l d be a m o r e s p i r i t u a l w o r k of art t h a n an equally beautiful p a i n t i n g of m o d e r n life. By these standards Spring is an i m p o r t a n t p r o d u c t of A l m a Tadema's idealistic philosophy. Its simple subject—the annual celebration of nature's renewal—is suffi­ ciently " h u m a n " t o have aroused empathetic responses even f r o m V i c t o r i a n L o n d o n ­ ers. (One recalls the statement f r o m Chambers's Book

of Days about the heightened

enthusiasm f o r M a y ceremonies a m o n g u r b a n dwellers.) T h e fact t h a t most V i c t o r i a n s believed i n the c o n t i n u i t y of m a y i n g t r a d i t i o n s f r o m R o m a n times t o their present strengthened A l m a Tadema's c l a i m t o be p o r t r a y i n g c i v i l i z a t i o n rather t h a n history. F u r t h e r m o r e , the simple m a y i n g theme covers a deeper subject, N a t u r e herself. T h e gorgeous flowers, o b v i o u s bits o f nature i m p o r t e d i n t o the glistening city, m i g h t easily be dismissed as evanescent ornaments. B u t the satyrs, the i n v o c a t i o n t o Priapus, and the i m p l i c i t presence of the goddess Flora are n o t so easily dismissed, since a l l represent forces o f N a t u r e w h i c h even the V i c t o r i a n s c o u l d n o t repress completely. W h a t e v e r its i n t r i n s i c interest, Spring's

74

subject fully accomplishes its p r i m a r y

f u n c t i o n of a f f o r d i n g pretexts for art. I t is here, finally, i n the w o r k i n g o u t of a p a i n t i n g (rather t h a n i n some intellectual theory) t h a t A l m a Tadema's concept of A r t reveals i t ­ self. The s p r i n g theme a l l o w e d h i m t o make a beautiful arrangement full of beautiful things, beautifully p a i n t e d . Flowers, b u i l d i n g s , people, sculpture, weather, r i t u a l — each a n d a l l are b e a u t i f u l ; the result is A r t . The artistic philosophy exemplified by this p a i n t i n g is shockingly self-effacing. A l m a Tadema was less the master of w h a t he saw and k n e w t h a n its h u m b l e servant. As Gosse observed, "Sometimes a l o n g i n g comes over us for a l i t t l e repose f r o m a l l this c r o w d e d perfection of detail; a w i s h creeps i n t o the m i n d for a l i t t l e dimness, a slight mist over i t a l l , o r for at least a little u n c e r t a i n t y i n some of the details. . . . [But] he draws everything t o measure; every i n c h , o r f r a c t i o n of an i n c h is p r o v e d ; ' I t must, i t shall, be r i g h t and exact; i f y o u are sure of y o u r facts, w h y hesitate t o state t h e m definitely?' is w h a t this severe master of detail may say t o any one w h o recommends a concession t o w h a t is graceful or a p p a r e n t . "

75

One m i g h t de­

scribe A l m a Tadema as a p o r t r a i t i s t of the b e a u t i f u l , i f n o t its creator. A l m a Tadema's obsession w i t h specific appearances most affected his repre­ sentation of people. H e p a i n t e d almost all of his figures f r o m life, fully dressed a n d a d o r n e d as they w o u l d appear i n the finished p a i n t i n g . H e seems t o have designed their costumes himself using Greek and R o m a n prototypes. The dresses were made u p f r o m silks and w o o l s i m p o r t e d by the firm of L i b e r t y and C o m p a n y , L o n d o n , w h i c h also m a r k e t e d g o w n s based o n styles A l m a Tadema designed for his models o r for theatrical p r o d u c t i o n s . T h e p h i l o s o p h y of Liberty's dress department, founded by the architect E d w a r d G o d w i n , closely resembled A l m a Tadema's approach t o the past. A c c o r d i n g t o the 1887 catalogue, the department was "arranged for the study and execution of costumes, e m b r a c i n g a l l periods of historic dress, together w i t h such modifications of really b e a u t i f u l examples as may be adapted t o the conventionalities of m o d e r n life, w i t h o u t r e n d e r i n g t h e m eccentric o r b i z a r r e . "

76

I n 1894 Liberty's offered the " H e r -

m i o n e " (fig. 5 6 ) , closely resembling the g o w n s of the flower-wand bearers i n

Spring.

L i k e every other element of A l m a Tadema's art, his models h a d t o be b e a u t i f u l , b u t n o t a l l were professionals. T h e m u s i c i a n George Henschel, a great friend of the art­ ist, l o o k s o u t f r o m the balcony just b e l o w the capital w i t h satyr and panpipes (figs. 57,

75

58), a n d his daughter H e l e n posed for the daisy-crowned g i r l s h o w n i n profile i n the upper r i g h t balcony (fig. 59). Fifty years later she still recalled the misery of p o s i n g : Sometimes he used friends as models. The only time I ever sat to him was when quite a child; I was one of a crowd looking from a high balcony on to a festival procession passing below. I had to wear a heavy chaplet of daisies, and in this top-heavy condition, on an ex­ cessively hot morning, lean from a high step-ladder, looking over its edge. I remember feel­ ing gradually sicker and sicker, but not being allowed to get down until the painting was finished. It's a charming little head, among the hundreds of figures in the picture, but Tad­ ema little knew how narrowly his head had escaped disaster! He usually wore a large straw sun-hat while painting; perhaps, in this case, luckily for him.

77

A n o t h e r c h i l d , nine-year-old Ilona Eibenschutz, posed for one of the little flower bear­ ers i n the f o r e g r o u n d ; she is the d a r k - h a i r e d g i r l l o o k i n g t o w a r d the r i g h t (fig. 1 1 ) .

78

A l m a Tadema himself m a y appear i n the scene, as the m a r b l e bust i n the l o w e r left cor­ ner (fig. 2 9 ) . T h e neatly t r i m m e d beard and distinctively shaped nose resemble his SelfPortrait

o f 1896 (frontis.). Despite their beauty, the critics castigated the figures i n many of A l m a Tade­

ma's pictures. J o h n R u s k i n felt t h a t i n general, the m o r e animated A l m a Tadema's m o d e l , the worse he p a i n t e d i t (in Ruskin's terms he p a i n t e d a silver plate best and h u ­ m a n figures b a d l y ) . H e l e n Z i m m e r n deplored the artist's failure t o depict e m o t i o n a l 7 9

characters o r d r a m a t i c m o m e n t s .

80

Yet, concerned as A l m a Tadema was w i t h likeness

a n d beauty, such criticisms were m i n o r . R a w e m o t i o n , desperate a c t i o n , o r an inac­ curate likeness w o u l d d i s t o r t n o t only the i n d i v i d u a l image b u t also the artist's deco­ rous v i s i o n o f refined c i v i l i z a t i o n (the end result of hundreds of such p o r t r a i t s ) . T h e c i v i l i z a t i o n depicted i n Spring is idealized and beautiful, dedicated t o na­ ture, art, beauty, a n d goodness. Its populace is y o u n g , healthy, artistic, w e l l mannered, a n d appealingly " h u m a n , " a n d one can imagine i t governed by an amiable aesthete like A l m a Tadema himself. B u t i t is n o t , w i t h hindsight, as timeless as the artist may have w i s h e d . A s w e have seen, Spring's

imagery depends heavily o n G r e c o - R o m a n artifacts,

V i c t o r i a n social r i t u a l s , a n d the assumption t h a t the t w o h i s t o r i c a l periods were con-

76

Figure 56. Ladies' Costumes. "Hermione," 1894. Reproduced from "Liberty" Cos­ tumes, Mantles, and Millinery for Ladies & Children, Season 1894—5 (London, Liberty and Company, 1894), p. 15. Courtesy of the Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

nected by a shared culture. A l m a Tadema's life, as w e l l as his art, can be seen as an i l ­ l u s t r a t i o n o f t h a t a s s u m p t i o n . Such a v i e w p o i n t , so c o m m o n i n the later nineteenth century t h a t m a n y t o o k i t f o r granted, is explicitly a n d elegantly stated by H e n r y James i n the o p e n i n g p a r a g r a p h of his novel The Golden Bowl of 1904:

The Prince had always liked his London, when it had come to him; he was one of the M o d ­ ern Romans who find by the Thames a more convincing image of the truth of the ancient

77

Figure 57. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of figures at upper right.

Figure 59. Unknown photographer. "Nan­ ny" with Helen, circa 1 8 9 5 . Reproduced from Henschel (1944), opp. p. 7 3 .

Figure 58. Unknown photographer. Por­ trait of George Henschel, early twentieth century. Reproduced from H . Henschel, When Soft Voices Die: A Musical Biography (London, 1944), fronds.

state than any they have left by the Tiber. Brought up on the legend of the City to which the world paid tribute, he recognised in the present London much more than in contem­ porary Rome the real dimensions of such a case. If it was a question of Imperium, he said to himself, and if one wished, as a Roman, to recover a little of the sense of that, the place to do so was on London Bridge, or even, on a fine afternoon in May, on Hyde Park Corner.

81

79

T h r o u g h o u t the 1890s the idea of M a y 1 as a date o n w h i c h t o celebrate the c o n t i n u i t y of i m p e r i a l culture appeared constantly. For example, i n 1891 i t f o u n d its w a y i n t o a Punch c a r t o o n e n t i t l e d Fashions

Floralia

(fig. 6 0 ) . Here the antique goddess

presides over a procession of figures representing the openings of art e x h i b i t i o n s and led by L o r d L e i g h t o n i n a toga, representing the R o y a l A c a d e m y . The academy's an­ 82

n u a l spring e x h i b i t i o n (at w h i c h Spring

appeared i n 1895) opened o n M a y 1 (or the

nearest convenient weekend day) t o an elite audience, m a k i n g i t a gala date n o t only for N a t u r e b u t also f o r A r t , n o t t o m e n t i o n the L o n d o n social season. O n a m o r e p o p ­ u l a r level, the F l o r a l i a appeared i n its medieval, more emphatically B r i t i s h f o r m i n plays and festivals f o r the u r b a n c r o w d . U n l i k e the M a g d a l e n College M a y ceremonies, w h i c h h a d some justification i n h i s t o r i c a l t r a d i t i o n , m a n y of these " t r a d i t i o n a l " festi­ vals were actually n e w inventions based o n notions of " h o w i t must have b e e n . " 1895

t

n

e

83

In

L y c e u m Theatre offered King Arthur w i t h Ellen Terry starring as Guinevere.

T h e p r i n c i p a l scene of the queen's m a y i n g i n the W h i t e t h o r n W o o d featured Terry at­ tended by w h i t e - r o b e d maidens w i t h the inevitable flower wands and garnered t w o full-page i l l u s t r a t i o n s i n The Illustrated

London

News

(figs. 6 1 , 6 2 ) . T h e A r t h u r i a n

legend was especially i m p o r t a n t for the i m p e r i a l M a y t r a d i t i o n because historians credited A r t h u r w i t h the preservation of R o m a n culture i n t o the C h r i s t i a n era. T h u s , p o p u l a r ceremonies c o u l d be l i n k e d w i t h a cult of B r i t i s h royalty, as i n the festivities at Saint M a r y Cray i n K e n t , staged for "a large n u m b e r of people employed i n the paperm i l l s as w e l l as . . . the r u r a l f o l k . . . . M i s s A d a Lisney made a c h a r m i n g M a y Queen, w h i l e M r . a n d M r s . W . T i c k n e r personated K i n g H e n r y and his c o n s o r t . "

84

The report

of this festival stressed the M a y Queen's innocent behavior and H e n r y V I I P s p o r t r a y a l at a m o m e n t p r e d a t i n g his c u s t o m of d i v o r c i n g o r executing his wives. Even London's desperately p o o r a n d tragically neglected East E n d was visited by M a y festivals. A fes­ t i v a l p r o g r a m n o t e d : "There is something pathetic i n the Bermondsey of to-day, where the c h i l d r e n h o l d their M a y - d a y revels, a n d where w e must seek for the l i n g e r i n g t r a ­ d i t i o n s o f c h i v a l r y and romance, learning and sanctity." T h i s was a l l p a r t of a larger p r o g r a m t o " m a k e the masses realise their s p i r i t u a l and social s o l i d a r i t y w i t h the rest of the c a p i t a l and k i n g d o m : h o w t o revive their sense of citizenship, w i t h its privileges

80

Figure 6 0 . L I N L E Y

SAMBOURNE

(British,

1844—1910). Fashion's Floralia: or, The Ur­ ban Queen of the May, 1 8 9 1 . Reproduced from Punch 100 (May 9, 1891), p. 218. San M a r i n o , The Huntington Library.

w h i c h they have lost, a n d its responsibilities w h i c h they have f o r g o t t e n . " Spring's

85

M a y festival falls at the elitist and idealist end of the spectrum of

1890s festivities. I m p e r i a l c i v i l i z a t i o n — a m i x o f the best of ancient R o m e a n d V i c t o ­ r i a n B r i t a i n — a p p e a r s i n its finest m o m e n t . Banished are poverty, ignorance, d i r t , a n d vice ( a l t h o u g h i t is n o t clear w h e t h e r they are gone altogether o r just m o v e d t o some other p a r t of the c i t y ) . T h e privileges of citizenship are p r o u d l y displayed, its respon­ sibilities m i n i m i z e d — m i s s i n g along w i t h the p o o r a n d the w o r k i n g class are soldiers, p o l i c e m e n , a n d other servants of the state. H o w e v e r , since the massive c r o w d behaves perfectly, w i t h a b l e n d o f j o y a n d d e c o r u m rarely f o u n d i n m o d e r n times, a c o n t r o l l i n g presence is unnecessary. Such an o p t i m i s t i c v i s i o n of i m p e r i a l c i v i l i z a t i o n accorded w e l l w i t h late V i c t o r i a n t h i n k i n g a b o u t the beneficial effects of Britain's g l o b a l d o m i ­ nance. L o r d C r o m e r , f o r example, i n an extended essay c o m p a r i n g the R o m a n a n d

81

Figure 6 1 . Window and Grove (British). Miss Ellen Terry as Guinevere in "King Arthur," at the Lyceum, 1895. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 106, no. 2917 (March 16, 1895), cover.

Figure 6 2 .

CECIL A L D I N

(British,

1870-

1935). "King Arthur" at the Lyceum: The Queens Maying in the Whitethorn Wood, 1895. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 106, no. 2909 (January 19, 1895), P72-

B r i t i s h empires, expressed the v i e w t h a t R o m e h a d been more tolerant and artistically richer, b u t m o d e r n B r i t a i n enjoyed an edge by v i r t u e of its C h r i s t i a n faith and a b i l i t y t o e x p l o i t distant sources of p r o d u c t i o n and m a r k e t s . evant t o Spring,

86

A l s o t y p i c a l , and especially rel­

is an essay e n t i t l e d " T h e W o m e n of I m p e r i a l R o m e and English

W o m e n of To-day," published i n 1894. The a u t h o r begins, " W r i t e r s have often d r a w n a parallel between the c i v i l i s a t i o n of the B r i t i s h E m p i r e of to-day and t h a t of I m p e r i a l R o m e under the Caesars—the latter a most fascinating p e r i o d , appealing t o the i m a g ­ i n a t i o n by the strength, b r i l l i a n c y and genius for government displayed, b u t w a n t i n g i n all t h a t makes a n a t i o n lastingly great, m o r a l i t y , o r a sense of r i g h t and w r o n g . " She continues, " H o w e v e r complete the parallel may be i n certain respects between the t w o Empires, i n the most v i t a l p o i n t of a l l , the m o r a l i t y , i n t e g r i t y and superiority of its

83

Figure 6 3 . S I R J O H N T E N N I E L (British, 1 8 2 0 - 1 9 1 4 ) . The New "Queen of the May"

1892. Reproduced from Punch 102 (April 3 0 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 2 1 1 . San Marino, The Hun­ tington Library.

Figure 6 4 . The Procession Entering Hyde Park, 1892. Reproduced from Illustrated

London

News 100, no. 2 7 6 8 (May 7 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 5 5 8 .

w o m e n , the m o d e r n E m p i r e is infinitely i n advance of the ancient one. . . . W h i l e w o m e n fight the evils i n o u r m i d s t w i t h m o r a l weapons, endeavor t o conquer vice, i g ­ norance, d r i n k , a n d incapacity, and t o substitute i n their stead goodness, beauty, a n d t r u t h , and w h i l e l o a t h i n g the sin d o their u t m o s t for the sinner, we need n o t fear the fate of o l d R o m e w i l l overtake u s . "

87

F r o m this one m i g h t conclude t h a t i f ancient R o m e

h a d been p o p u l a t e d w i t h m o d e r n English w o m e n , h u m a n c i v i l i z a t i o n w o u l d n o w re­ semble the v i s i o n o f life presented i n

Spring.

Sad t o say, i t does n o t , n o r d i d i t at the end of the nineteenth century. H i s t o r y , t h a t tedious a n d v i o l e n t alternative t o " h u m a n " c i v i l i z a t i o n , presents quite a different picture of M a y D a y i n V i c t o r i a n B r i t a i n . I n 1889 the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Socialist Congress

85

declared M a y i t o be an i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a b o r day. 1890 was quiet, b u t i n 1891 massive M a y D a y strikes were organized i n a l l the capitals of Europe and i n E n g l a n d . As The Spectator r e p o r t e d i t , One need not be a Socialist to feel the imaginative impact of the scene which Western Eu­ rope presented on May ist. "A wave of whiteness went over the wheat," and the unity of the wheat-straws, at least for certain purposes, was made manifest to the eye. In every highly civilised land, in France and England and Germany and Austria and Italy, and even Spain, there was a perceptible spasm of unrest, a quiver as if the great mass of life under­ neath the social crust were heaving with a throb. As if stirred by an instinctive impulse, the artisans of many countries, though separated from each other by race, language, and creed, often hostile, and always ignorant of each other, made one common effort to ex­ press the same thought, or rather, the same desire; and did succeed in making it so artic­ ulate that at least the Governments heard, and, except in England, stood everywhere to arms.

88

These governments, i n fact, ordered their troops t o fire o n demonstrators, causing m a n y deaths, especially i n France a n d Italy. The events of M a y 1, 1 8 9 1 , inspired fear a n d h o r r o r o n b o t h sides: w o r k i n g m e n risked death i n their peaceable efforts t o l i m i t i n d u s t r i a l w o r k i n g h o u r s ; governments and capitalist employers dreaded the possibil­ i t y o f an i n t e r n a t i o n a l , p o t e n t i a l l y r e v o l u t i o n a r y movement infiltrated by anarchist ter­ rorists. N o t surprisingly, the weeks leading u p t o M a y D a y 1892 were filled w i t h ten­ sion, reflected i n E n g l a n d by a n e w Punch Queen of the M a y considerably less attractive t h a n her predecessor of 1890 (fig. 6 3 ) . Fear was f o l l o w e d by relief as the huge c r o w d s gathered peacefully; three h u n d r e d t o five h u n d r e d thousand assembled i n L o n ­ don's H y d e Park for parades a n d speeches (see fig. 6 4 ) . M a y D a y demonstrations i n 1893, %94-> a n d 1895 r e m a i n e d o r d e r l y and gradually d i m i n i s h e d i n scale as govern­ 1

ments sought t o meet wage earners' demands a n d w o r k e r s disassociated themselves f r o m a n a r c h i s m . Nevertheless, t h r o u g h o u t the 1890s, as A l m a Tadema w o r k e d o n Spring, the p o s s i b i l i t y o f a w o r k e r s ' r e v o l u t i o n overshadowed R o y a l A c a d e m y open­ ings a n d m o r a l i z i n g M a y Queens alike w h e n people's thoughts t u r n e d t o M a y 1 .

86

Figure 6 5 . W A L T E R C R A N E (British, 184 5 - 1 9 1 5 ) . The Triumph of Labour, 1891. Reproduced from R G . Konody, The Art of Walter Crane (London, 1902), opp. p. 86.

There were, then, t w o M a y Days i n E n g l a n d i n the 1890s: the elite, historicizing festivals exemplified by Spring,

and the w o r k e r s ' H y d e Park rallies, w h i c h devel­

oped an iconography of their o w n . The w o r k e r s ' cause aroused considerable sympathy a m o n g B r i t o n s , i n c l u d i n g such p r o m i n e n t artists as W i l l i a m M o r r i s , Walter Crane, and C. R. Ashbee. Crane i n p a r t i c u l a r t u r n e d o u t a steady stream of banners, p r i n t s , and p o e t r y i n s u p p o r t o f socialist issues. H i s most i m p o r t a n t p r i n t , The Triumph

of

Labour

(fig. 6 5 ) , commemorates the 1891 I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a y Day and forms a s t r i k i n g compar­ ison w i t h Spring.

T h e images have m u c h i n c o m m o n : processional subject matter,

masses of people, standard bearers w i t h inscribed banners, t a m b o u r i n e players, and garlands of flowers. B u t Crane's parade is p o p u l a t e d by w o r k e r s ; the presiding goddess, L i b e r t y , is supported by F r a t e r n i t y and E q u a l i t y ; and the m o r a l values celebrated are those of m a n u a l l a b o r and w o r k e r solidarity. Since the w o r k e r s steadfastly opposed i m ­ p e r i a l i s m , believing t h a t cheap i m p o r t e d goods eroded the value of their labor, Crane re­ placed references t o ancient R o m e w i t h allusions t o the t r a d i t i o n a l English countryside. The

Triumph

of Labour

appeared just as A l m a Tadema was beginning his

87

Figure 66. Unknown photographer. Scene from "Cleopatra. Caesar's Triumphal Entry into Rome, 1934. Publicity still. © by Universal Pictures, a Division of Universal City Studios, Inc. Courtesy of M C A Publishing Rights, a Division of M C A Inc. 33

w o r k o n Spring,

a n d one m u s t w o n d e r t o w h a t extent his F l o r a l i a — a t r i u m p h o f lei­

sure—was a reaction against the socialist image. I n any case, the c o m p e t i n g views clearly reflect differences w i t h i n B r i t i s h society about the significance o f M a y 1 as w e l l as larger, related p o l i t i c a l controversies about the nation's future. W h o w o u l d c o n t r o l the destiny of the so-called " G a r d e n of England?" For A l m a Tadema a n d his fellow elit­ ist aesthetes, the future lay i n the p u r s u i t o f empire (recall his interest i n H a d r i a n , the c o n s o l i d a t o r o f R o m a n I m p e r i a l m i g h t ) , the cult o f royalty, a n d the enjoyment o f a l l of

88

the arts, f r o m p a i n t i n g and music t o gardening. T h e socialists sought t o dismember the empire, restore the rights o f i n d u s t r i a l wage w o r k e r s , and p r o m o t e domestic agricul­ ture. Should future B r i t o n s be p i c k i n g hothouse flowers o r harvesting wheat? T h e rise o f the l a b o r m o v e m e n t and socialism and the w e a k e n i n g of the B r i t i s h empire a n d strengthening of G e r m a n y and the U n i t e d States, a l l o c c u r r i n g at the t u r n of the century, presaged the end of the o p t i m i s t i c i m p e r i a l i s t philosophy e m b o d i e d i n A l m a Tadema's art. H i s realistic idealism also was b e c o m i n g o u t m o d e d as avant-garde French painting—Post-Impressionism and Symbolism—finally f o u n d supporters i n E n g l a n d . T h e nostalgia expressed i n Swinburne's " D e d i c a t i o n " and i m p l i c i t i n

Spring

therefore may have been n o t only for the lost antique past b u t also f o r m o r e recent losses of p o s i t i o n a n d prestige. N o one, and certainly n o t A l m a Tadema himself, c o u l d have predicted h o w r a p i d l y his o w n fortunes w o u l d p l u m m e t after his death o n the eve of the First W o r l d War, however. A savage o b i t u a r y by Roger Fry, chief p r o p o n e n t o f Post-Impressionism i n E n g l a n d , launched the decline. T h e h i s t o r y of Spring

89

after the death of its m a k e r

90

constitutes a m o r a l tale i n

itself. Even before i t was completed, A l m a Tadema h a d sold the picture t o R o b e r t v o n M e n d e l s s o h n , a G e r m a n banker w i t h musical tastes similar t o his o w n . M e n d e l s s o h n was one o f m a n y G e r m a n financiers then collecting c o n t e m p o r a r y B r i t i s h art. I n 1 9 0 1 , however, he sold Spring French painters

9 1

Spring

t o make w a y i n his collection for w o r k s by M a n e t a n d other was snapped u p the same year by the A m e r i c a n m i l l i o n a i r e

Charles T. Yerkes, thus t r a v e l i n g t o the h o m e o f the rising i m p e r i a l p o w e r t h a t w o u l d supplant B r i t a i n after W o r l d W a r I . A l m a Tadema m i g h t w e l l have approved o f M r s . Yerkes's c u s t o m o f dressing u p i n L i b e r t y - i n s p i r e d togas and assuming artistic poses based o n the p i c t u r e ; after a l l , he enjoyed w e a r i n g togas and flower wreaths at parties 92

himself. Yet, even after the p a i n t i n g passed o u t o f the Yerkeses' hands i n t o the o b s c u r i t y of s m a l l M i d w e s t e r n collections, i t remained an i n s p i r a t i o n t o Americans d r e a m i n g o f i m p e r i a l grandeur. W h e n m a k i n g his f i l m Cleopatra

(1934),

Cecil B. D e M i l l e needed

a p r o t o t y p e f o r a scene o f Caesar's t r i u m p h a n t r e t u r n t o R o m e after c o n q u e r i n g E g y p t for the E m p i r e . Spring

suggested the procession led by flower-bearing starlets and

h a i l e d by tiers o f spectators tossing bouquets (fig. 6 6 ) . H a v i n g "gone H o l l y w o o d " as

89

early as the 1930s, the p a i n t i n g emerged, after decades of obscurity, i n Beverly H i l l s and passed several years later t o the Getty M u s e u m . Once again—and p e r m a n e n t l y — i t f o u n d a place i n the possession of a p l u t o c r a t w i t h dreams of empire, obsessed w i t h a v i s i o n of r e v i v i n g ancient R o m e i n m o d e r n t i m e s .

90

93

N O T E S

1 . Tadema had a side to his character which might be called hobble-de-hoyish; he rejoiced in toys of every description, and kept a huge collection of them in cupboards in the billiard room. Many a time have I seen him sitting on the floor, surrounded by roaring lions, comic monkeys, all sorts of creatures, zoologi­ cally recognisable or otherwise, showing them off to some new friend with great roars of laughter. How he would have adored Donald Duck! . . . It was hard to recognise in this immense child the painter of those pictures ( H . Henschel, When Soft Voices Die: A Musical Biography [London, 1 9 4 4 ] ^ . 102). For full biographies of Alma Tadema, see P. C. Standing, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A. (London, Paris, New York, and Melbourne, 1905); R. Ash, Alma-Tadema: An Illustrated Life of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema 1836—1912 (Aylesburg, Bucks., 1973); and V. G. Swanson, AlmaTadema: The Painter of the Victorian Vision of the Ancient World (New York, 1977). 2. Information from V. Swanson. 3. John Ruskin quoted by Allen Funt, in C. Forbes, Victorians in Togas: Paintings by Sir Law­ rence Alma-Tadema from the Collection of Allen Funt, exh. cat. (Metropolitan Museum of A r t , New York, 1973), Foreword. 4. B. B. Fredericksen, Alma Tadema's Spring (Malibu, 1976; rev. edn. 1978), pp. 27-29. 5. A . C. Swinburne, Poems & Ballads (First Series) (London, I 9 i 9 ) , p p . 293—96. 6. M . Warner, "Comic and Aesthetic: James Tissot in the Context of British A r t and Taste," in K. Matyjaszkiewicz, ed., James Tissot, exh. cat. (Barbican A r t Gallery, London, 1984), p. 33. 7. C. Kightly, The Customs and Ceremonies of Britain (London, 1986), pp. 159-62. 8. D . Cannadine, "The Context, Perfor­ mance and Meaning of Ritual: The British M o n ­ archy and the 'Invention of Tradition', c. 1 8 2 0 1977," in E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger, eds., The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge, 1983), pp. 120-39.

9. Fredericksen (note 4), p. 2 1 . 10. H . H . Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic (Ithaca, N.Y., 1981), pp. 102-3. 11. W. Pater, Marius the Epicurean: His Sen­ sations and Ideas, 2 vols. (1885; New York, 1901). 12. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 4. 13. "Notes," in Royal Academy Pictures {Magazine of Art suppl.) (1895), p. v. 14. Scullard (note 10), pp. 110-11. 15. J. Ingram, Flora symbolica; or, The Lan­ guage and Sentiment of Flowers (London and New York, 1869), pp. 52.-53. 16. Ibid., p. 55. 17. C. Dickens, "The First of May," in Sketches by Boz (1850; Philadelphia, 1873), P203. 18. R. Chambers, ed., The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, 2 vols. (London and Edin­ burgh, 1863), vol. 1, p. 571. 19. K G . Stephens, "Fine Arts. The Royal Academy. (First Notice)," Athenaeum 3523 (May 4, 1895), p. 57520. Kightly (note 7), p. 160. 21. G. R. Strange, ed., The Poetical Works of Tennyson (Boston, 1974), pp. 47—51. 22. T. Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891; New York, i 9 8 i ) , p p . 5-13. 23. M . Bennett, William Holman Hunt, exh. cat. (Walker A r t Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum, Liverpool and London, 1969), pp. 5 8 59, no. 59. 24. Illustrated London News 96, no. 2665 (May 17, 1890), p. 622. 25. G. P. Landow, William Holman Hunt and Typological Symbolism (New Haven and London, 1979), pp. 138-39. 26. Reverend J. P. Faunthorpe, "A MayQueen Festival," Nineteenth Century 219 (May 1895), pp. 7 4 5 - 4 6 .

91

44. Divided by the artist into three canvases now in Soestdijk, Soestdijk Palace; Amsterdam, Historisch Museum; and Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou. 45. E. Nash, The Pictorial Dictionary of An­ cient Rome (London, 1961), vol. 1, p. 106. 46. A Guide in the National Museum of Na­ ples and Its Principal Monuments Illustrated (Na­ ples, [circa 1836]), pp. 2 8 - 2 9 . 47. Information from K. Manchester, Assis­ tant Curator, Department of Antiquities, J. Paul Getty Museum. 48. F. Haskell and N . Penny, Taste and the An­ tique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500—1900 (New Haven and London, 1981), p. 159; A Guide . . . (note 46), pp. 32.-3349. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Archives, Photographs Collection, Port­ folio 116, E.2612 (pencil drawing). 50. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection, Index of Portfolios. 51. Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection, Portfolio 140, 11754-1915. 52. Illustrated London News 100, suppl. (May 7, 1892), p. 8. 53. V. Spinazzola, Le arti decorativi in Pompei e nel Museo Nazionale di Napoli (Milan, Rome, Venice, and Florence, 1928), p. 155. 54. M . Grant, The Art and Life of Pompeii and Herculaneum (New York, 1979), pp. 76, 77. 55. A . M a u , Pompeii: Its Life and Art (1899; rev. edn. 1902; reprint N e w Rochelle, 1982), p. 348. 56. Ibid., pp. 321, 330. 57. "Notes" (note 13), p. v. 58. Stephens (note 19), p. 575. 59. Stephens (note 30). 60. I . Jenkins, "Frederic L o r d Leighton and Greek Vases," Burlington Magazine 125, no. 967 (October 1983), pp. 602, 605. M y thanks to M r . Jenkins for his assistance w i t h the identification of the relief.

27. Ibid., p. 746. 28. Ibid., p. 734. 29. Ibid., p. 735. 30. F. G. Stephens, "Fine A r t Gossip," Athe­ naeum 3479 (June 30, 1894), p. 844; Stephens (note 19). The absence of priest, attendant, and vessels in the 1894 description and their presence in the 1895 description suggest that they were added during the revision. 31. Illustrated London News 94, no. 2602 (March 2, 1889), p. 274. 32. Ibid. 33. Illustrated London News 106, no. 2924 (May 4,1895), p. 5 3 34. Stephens (note 30). 35. Swinburne (note 5), p. 342. 36. For a detailed discussion of Alma Tade­ ma's methods of constructing space, see E. Gosse, "Laurens Alma-Tadema," Century Magazine 47 (February 1894), PP- 4 9 3 9 4 - One paragraph of her essay bears quoting, since it may describe a conversation w i t h the artist about Spring: I recollect once remarking to Mr. Alma-Tadema that I thought a pillar in the foreground of one of his pic­ tures was rather too conspicuous; whereupon he at once showed me that it was obliged to be so, as it was the continuation of the line of architecture carried for­ ward from the rear of the building, and he went on to point out how this facade fitted on to that hall, and that flight of steps made some other wall finish at a given angle, and so on, until I found myself quite con­ vinced of the actuality of the whole thing, and be­ lieved, as he did, in the absolute necessity of that col­ umn remaining where it was, even if it did still seem unduly prominent. The large pillar i n the left foreground of Spring might conceivably have been the subject of this conversation. 1

-

37. Standing (note 1), p. 123. 38. Kightly (note 7), p. 159; Faunthorpe (note 26), p. 745. 39. D . Stuart, The Garden Triumphant: A Victorian Legacy (London, 1988), chaps. 5,6. 40. Ingram (note 15), pp. 1 4 0 - 4 1 , 358; J.J. Grandville, The Court of Flora: Les Fleurs animees (1847; N e w York, 1981), not paginated. 4 1 . Ingram (note 15), pp. 357, 358. 42. Ibid., p. 49. 43. Stephens (note 19), p. 575.

6 1 . R . A . B . Mynors, ed., C. Valerii Catulli carmina (Oxford, 1958), p. 106; P. Wigham, ed. and trans., The Poems of Catullus (Harmondsw o r t h , 1966), p. 73. J. G. Fitch, University of Vic­ toria, first identified the poem i n a letter to B. B. Fredericksen, February 9, 1984 (Malibu, J. Paul

92.

Reform in Late 19th-century London," Paper read at the annual meeting of the College A r t As­ sociation, San Francisco, February 1989, pp. 7—8. 86. E. Baring, Earl of Cromer, Ancient and Modern Imperialism (New York, 1910). 87. M . Dale, "The Women of Imperial Rome and the English Woman of Today," Westminster Review 141 (1894), PP- 49°> 49 ? 5 88. Spectator wo. 3280 (May 9, i 8 9 i ) , p . 650. 89. Fry (note 64), pp. 666—67. 90. See Fredericksen (note 4), pp. 5—13. 9 1 . Ibid., p. 9. 92. Ash (note 1), p. 44. 93. Since according to one source Getty be­ lieved himself to be the reincarnation of the em­ peror Hadrian, the association of this particular image of Hadrian's Rome w i t h a Hadrianic villa reconstruction is especially appropriate. See F. di Giorgi, "Dolori e follie alia corte dell'uomo piu ricco del mondo," Club 3 (December 1989), p. 30.

Getty Museum, Department of Paintings, Files). He pointed out that Alma Tadema misspelled two words i n his inscription: Lampsaci is incorrectly spelled Lampsica, and Hellespontia is misspelled Hellespontis. 62. J. Held, "Flora, Goddess and Courtesan," in De artibus opuscula XL: Essays in Honor ofErwin Panofsky (New York, 1961), vol. 1, p. 203. 63. See above (note 1). 64. R. Fry, "The Case of the Late Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, O . M . , " Nation 12, no. 16 (January 18, I 9 i 3 ) , p p . 666—67. 65. H . Zimmern, Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema (London, 1902), pp. 27-28. 66. L . Alma-Tadema, " A r t in Its Relation to Industry," Magazine of Art 16(1893), p. 8. 67. Zimmern (note 65), p. 28. 68. Ibid. 69. Gosse (note 36), p. 496. 70. Zimmern (note 65), p. 28. 7 1 . G. Ebers, Lorenz Alma Tadema: His Life and Works, trans. M . J. Safford (New York, 1886), p. 28. 72. Zimmern (note 65), p. 9. 73. Standing (note 1), pp. 2 0 - 2 1 . 74. Ebers (note 71), pp. 28, 33. 75. Gosse (note 36), pp. 4 9 5 - 9 6 . 76. "Liberty" Art (Dress) Fabrics & Personal Specialities (London, 1886), p. 13. 77. Henschel (note 1), pp. 102-3. 78. M a l i b u , J. Paul Getty Museum, Depart­ ment of Paintings, Files, Letter from V. Swanson, July 5, 1987. In the same letter Swanson identifies the bearded priest carrying a silver ewer as a selfportrait. Although the idea of Alma Tadema as a priest of Flora is appealing, the white beard rules out this likelihood. 79. Standing (note 1), p. 53. 80. Zimmern (note 65), p. 29. 81. H . James, The Golden Bowl (1904; Lon­ don, 1988), p. 43. 82. M y thanks to V. Swanson for identifying L o r d Leigh ton. 83. Kightly (note 7), p. 160. 84. Illustrated London News 98, no. 2716 (May 9, i 8 9 i ) , p . 595. 85. Quoted in D . Weiner, '"The Highest A r t for the Lowest People': The Architecture of Social

1

93

0 1

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1989), p. 30. Ebers, G. Lorenz Alma Tadema: His Life and Works. Trans. M . J . Safford. New York, 1886.

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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

In the course of researching Spring, I relied heavily on the work of Burton B. Freder­ icksen and Vern G. Swanson. Their publications (listed in the notes and bibliography), as well as their correspondence over many years preserved in the Museum's files, simplified and clarified my task. Swanson and Susan Casteras read the manuscript and rescued it from many errors of fact and interpretation; those which slipped through may be attributed directly to the author. I owe debts of gratitude not only to the curators, archivists, scholars, collectors, and dealers who assisted me with my work but also to the many interested correspondents who have contributed their insights and discoveries over the years. Particular thanks are due to Professor John G. Fitch, who, from out of the blue, it seemed, identified the Latin verses by Catullus that are key to my interpretation of the painting. This book would not have been the same without the assistance of David Bindman, Owen Edgar, Peter Flory, Christopher Forbes, Madeleine Ginsburg, I . D . Jenkins, Geoffrey M u n n , M a r k Murray, Nicholas Olsberg, Myra Orth, M r . Pinfield, M a r k Poltimore, Virginia Renner, Caroline Rietz, Simon Taylor, Deborah Weiner, Andrews W i l ­ kinson, and Christopher Wood. As usual, the Getty Museum's Publications staff and Photographic Services depart­ ment rose nobly to the challenge of yet another project jammed into their busy schedules. I would also like to thank all of the Museum's curators of paintings, whose love/hate relationships with Spring did not prevent them from encouraging the development of this project over several years. Everyone deserves to be showered with rose petals—or purple vetch, if historical accuracy is re­ quired—next May first. But I would like to toss special bouquets to the two guys at home.

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The Getty Museum Studies on A r t seek to introduce individual works of note or small groups of closely related works to a broad public with an interest in the history of art and related disciplines. Each monograph features a close discussion of its subject as well as a detailed analysis of the broader context in which the work was created, considering relevant historical, cultural, chronological, and other questions. These volumes are also intended to give readers a sense of the range of approaches which can be taken in analyzing works of art having a variety of functions and coming from a wide range of periods and cultures.

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