The beautiful sensuality and love shines through with this piece. The light makes the paint seem like it’s alive. The work is entitled Lost Paradise and made in 1867. Two years after the end of the American Civil War and during the Second French Empire (or Imperial Period), led by Napoleon III.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Alexandre Cabanel was a French academic painter, with enormous talent that specialized in landscapes, historical portraits, and sketches. He was influential in capturing the male academic fine art nude, and later would open an art school specializing in its renderings. Originally the school was for male students only, but later opened enrollment to women. Although he is most remembered for his male nudes, more of female aristocratic portraits survive. Known as a kind man that took much pride in his involvement in the Paris Salon.
OTHER WORKS:
Portrait of Countess Elizabeth Vorontsova-Dashkova
