Maria Chernysheva
Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
A new type of history painting emerges in the 19th century France due to the unprecedented development of historical consciousness.
On the thematic level this type is distinguished by a focus on the historical material proper as opposed to the mythological and religious one and by the preference for themes from postclassical history since the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Paul Delaroche became a leader of this new direction in historical painting.
I will consider the works of Delaroche that were originally purchased by Anatoly Demidov, a first Russian collector of the new historical painting: “The Execution of Lady Jane Grey” (1833, oil on canvas, National Gallery, London) and “The Assassination of the Duke of Guise” (1832, watercolor on paper, Wallace Collection, London). These compositions of Delaroche have drawn my attention for the following reasons:
• They are interesting examples of the representation of history and the “reformation” of historical painting in the 19th century.
• They clearly reflect a new principle of dealing with the artistic heritage, in this case the Renaissance one: Delaroche uses the Renaissance art works as the historical evidences rather than as artistic models.
• Finally, these compositions of Delaroche became widely known, and found an echo in the work of other artists, including Russian masters of historical genre. My particular attention will be paid to the little-studied Russian interpretations of the French models.