Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema , 1836-1912, English painter, b. Friesland. He studied in Belgium, where he lived until 1869. In that year he went to England; there he became a citizen and enjoyed a long popularity and many honors. He is best known for his scholarly and meticulous paintings of scenes from Greek and Roman life.

Alma-Tadema, Sir Lawrence (1836–1912). Dutch painter who settled in London in 1870 and became a British citizen in 1873. He specialized in historical genre scenes, beginning with medieval subjects, but then—following a visit to Pompeii in 1863—turning to the ancient world. His paintings evoke a Hollywood vision of ancient Greece and Rome (and sometimes Egypt), with their sensuous depiction of beautiful women, exotic costumes, and marbled settings—Punch called him a ‘marbellous artist’. Such works were enormously successful and Alma-Tadema had a sumptuous lifestyle in his house in St John's Wood (previously owned by Tissot), which he remodelled as a Roman villa. He was knighted in 1899 and received the Order of Merit in 1905. His success encouraged several imitators, including his wife Laura (1852–1909), his daughter (by a previous wife) Anna (1865–1943), and painters such as John William Godward (1861–1922) and Edwin Long (1829–91). However, Alma-Tadema's work went completely out of favour after his death, and his reputation did not revive until the 1970s. Now he once again pleases a large public; visitor surveys at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, have revealed that his Spring (1894) is the most popular work in the collection.