In many paintings, Alma‑Tadema fused the stylistic elements of northern European scenes of daily life with the contemporary Victorian interest in classical antiquity. (The artist himself owned 168 volumes of photographs of Greek and Roman artifacts). Here, he depicts a woman in classical dress leaning on a Pompeian bronze table, the model for which survives in the archaeological museum in Naples. The artist’s detailed treatment of flowers, jewelry, and textiles lends a sense of immediacy to his depiction of a faraway place and time.

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