In the Time of Constantine – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1878

IN THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE

Etching by Leopold Löwenstam, after the 1878 painting (Opus CXCII) by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Coloured by a later hand. Size: 14.5 × 20.5 cm.

Two Roman senators are teaching a Scottish terrier to sit up and beg. A fountain can be seen in the background. The letters CONS refer to the Arch of Constantine, which appears in the background of the original painting but has been omitted from the etching.

Also absent from the etching is a sculpture positioned on top of the wall in front of which the two men are seated. This is the Spinario, the celebrated and frequently copied ancient sculpture of a boy removing a thorn from his foot.

Prints after Alma-Tadema’s paintings reached a wide audience of art lovers and connoisseurs. These included not only reproductive prints faithfully reproducing the artist’s paintings, but also interpretations by individual printmakers specialising in different techniques.

As was customary, these prints were produced in various states and printed on different types of paper. Several versions of the same subject were sometimes offered, each at a different price.

In the Time of Constantine, for example, was available both as an engraving by Auguste Blanchard and as the present etching by Leopold Löwenstam.

Price: Euro 475,- (incl. frame)