Art documentation by Todd-White . Русский: Эскиз картины 'Светочи христианства. Факелы Нерона' (Генрих Семирадский, около 1876, частная коллекция) English: Study for the 'Torches of Nero' (Henryk Siemiradzki, circa 1876, private collection) Leading Light of Christianity. Nero’s Torches, signed. Oil on canvas, by cm. 400,000-500,000 GBP Executed c. 1876. Provenance: Private collection, Europe. Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007. Private collection, UK. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. Authenticity has also been confirmed by the
Art documentation by Todd-White . Русский: Эскиз картины 'Светочи христианства. Факелы Нерона' (Генрих Семирадский, около 1876, частная коллекция) English: Study for the 'Torches of Nero' (Henryk Siemiradzki, circa 1876, private collection) Leading Light of Christianity. Nero’s Torches, signed. Oil on canvas, by cm. 400,000-500,000 GBP Executed c. 1876. Provenance: Private collection, Europe. Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2007. Private collection, UK. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov. Authenticity has also been confirmed by the experts L. Gladkova and T. Karpova. Authenticity certificate from the expert L. Gladkova. Literature: T. Karpova, Genrikh Semiradsky, St Petersburg, Zolotoi vek, 2008, p. 74, mentioned in the text. On offer for auction, this monumental study of Genrikh Semiradsky’s most famous painting, Leading Light of Christianity. Nero’s Torches, is the only one of the artist’s large-scale preparatory works for this canvas that still remains in private hands. His four years of intensive work on the seven-metre Leading Light of Christianity. Nero’s Torches (from 1873 to 1876) saw Semiradsky produce many graphic sketches, preparatory studies and a series of preliminary drawings, the majority of which, like the painting itself, now reside in the collection of the National Museum in Kraków (Poland). The idea to paint this majestic canvas from Roman history first occurred to Semiradsky during a tour of Europe, with the artist sharing his thoughts in a letter dated September 1873 to the conference secretary of the Imperial Academy of Arts, Petr Iseev: “The subject of the painting is taken from the first persecution of the Christians under the Emperor Nero. In the splendid garden of Nero’s Domus Aurea, preparations are being made for a lavish nighttime feast. In a clearing in front of the palatia
Size: 3139px × 1592px
Photo credit: © The Picture Art Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., /, /., 1876., circa, henryk, siemiradzki
