…don’t ask me why I was reminded of this recently. Maybe someone mentioned The Lourve, maybe someone said martyr….but whatever was mentioned, it reminded me of one of my favorite paintings that happens to hang in The Lourve. La Jeune Martyre or The Young Martyr by Paul Delaroche. I happened upon it on my only visit to The Louvre and was immediately entranced. I was lucky enough to find a print of it in The Lourve gift shop and bought it. To this day I’m not sure what exactly was the inspiration for the painting. I’ve read that the paining is Delaroche’s depiction of Rhea Silvia’s attempted murder by Amulius. If you look to the background in the original painting, you can see the figure of an angry male figure looking down upon the woman in the Tiber. In the legend, Rhea is ultimately saved by Tiberius the river god and they were married. Tiberius gave Romulus and Remus, Rhea’s twin sons by Mars, God of War to a she wolf to raise and Romulus later killed Remus and claimed “Rome” his own.
I was immediately struck by a wave of sadness when I saw it…but also the beauty of it. So simplistic. I’m sure some would be bored by this painting, but I’ve never had such a strong reaction to a piece of art (unless in utter disgust…;-) ….anyway, sharing it with you now. What are some of your favorite works?
La Jeune Martyre - Paul Delaroche, 1855
I love paintings so much. They say so much in such a limited amount of space. This says a lot too. It’s peaceful and calm, but also a sad and devious.
So when do you come to see the painting again? ;o)
I have no idea what my favourite painting is though now you mention it, never thought of thinking about that!
http://sisu.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/cigolistfrancis.jpg
My favorite from the Uffizi in Florence. St. Francis Receives the Stigmata. Huge and gorgeous in person.
I had exactly the same feeling when I sow this painting at La Louvre. I would give the same description of the event!
I had the exact same reaction to the painting when I saw it for the first time in the Louvre too! I also bought a print from the Louvre gift shop. I had it framed when I got home and it’s been hanging in my house since 1990. I think it’s so awesome that I came across your post, because you describe the same experience I had when I discovered it. I just sat and stared at it for hours. It’s so sad and beautiful.