Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, , . tAgrippas, in every way one of his most sig-nificant undertakings, in which a wholehistoric epoch is crystallised and renderedconcrete/ It was finished in Brussels, onthe way to Italy, in 1875. In this fine workthe artist does not for a moment sacrificethe effect of the story to its magical environ-ment of mosaics, marbles, statue, and back-ground of sky. Alma-Tadema made of thissubject one of his most noteworthy and mostuniversally acclaimed triumphs. Although the partial demolition of hisLondon home must have been in the nature ofa heavy blow to Alma-Ta
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, , . tAgrippas, in every way one of his most sig-nificant undertakings, in which a wholehistoric epoch is crystallised and renderedconcrete/ It was finished in Brussels, onthe way to Italy, in 1875. In this fine workthe artist does not for a moment sacrificethe effect of the story to its magical environ-ment of mosaics, marbles, statue, and back-ground of sky. Alma-Tadema made of thissubject one of his most noteworthy and mostuniversally acclaimed triumphs. Although the partial demolition of hisLondon home must have been in the nature ofa heavy blow to Alma-Tadema, he applied him-self with characteristic ardour and enthusiasmto the task of restoring it. Some years later,however, he acquired and proceeded to re-construct the mansion, with its extensivegrounds, in the Grove End Road, which hassince become one of the most celebrated ofLondons houses. It would be a work ofsupererogation to describe this bouse—or,rather, this delicious blend of old Rome,old Athens, and of the natural £ CO HIS HOME IN ENGLAND. 41 A fireplace of white and coloured marble,surmounted by an unusually sightly chimney,in the shape of a silvered column with giltcapital and base, wrote an early visitor tothe house, is one of the features of the lesserstudio ; also a window of onyx and transparentmarble, brought from Townshend House. Thewalls, and a low arch at one end of the room,are entirely white, but the loftier and greaterportion of the ceiling is embellished by beamsand panels of polished woods, principally ofpitch-pine, which is also the material used forthe flooring, bookcases, and general woodwork. The studio is on a higher level than itscompanion apartment ; at the head of a shortflight of steps a small landing with open balus-trades overlooks the lower room, the floor ofwhich is tiled and the decoration simple. Onewall is fitted with doors ornamented by platesof metal, on which are etched, by Mr. LeopoldLowenstam, sketches of Alma-Tademas F
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherlondonparisnewyork
