LAWRENCE

ALMA TADEMA
Spring
 LAWRENCE
ALMA TADEMA
Spring

Louise Lippincott

GETTY
MUSEUM
STUDIES
ON ART

M A L I B U , C A L I F O R N I A 1990
 1991 The J. Paul Getty Museum
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
M a l i b u , California 90265-5799

M a i l i n g Address:
P.O. Box 2112
Santa Monica, California 90407-2112

Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lippincott, Louise, 1953

Lawrence Alma Tadema : Spring / Louise Lippincott.
p. cm. (Getty Museum studies on art)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
I S B N 0-89236-186-7
1. Alma-Tadema, Lawrence, Sir, 183 6-1912. Spring. 2. Alma-
Tadema, Lawrence, Sir, 1836-1912Criticism and interpretation.
I . Title. I I . Series.
ND497.A4A755 1991
759.2dc2o 90-49669
CIP

Cover, foldout: L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A
(British, 1836-1912). Spring, 1895. O i l on
canvas, 178.4x80 cm(701/4x 311/2in.). M a l i b u , J.
Paul Getty Museum 72.PA.3.

Frontispiece: L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A .
Self-Portrait, 1896. O i l on canvas, 65.7x 53.5 cm
(251/2x 21 in.). Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi.

A l l photographs are reproduced courtesy of the

owners and institutions w i t h the following
exceptions: frontis. (The Bridgeman Library,
London); figs. 3 (Hanover Studios, London); 4
( Elke Walford); 5, 25 (Alinari/Art Resource,
N e w York [Anderson]); 7 (Walker A r t Gallery,
Liverpool; photo: John M i l l s ) ; 8 (photo: O. E.
Nelson, N e w York); 13 (courtesy of Kurt E.
Schon, Ltd.); 15 (courtesy of Christie, Manson &
Woods, London); 19 (Walker A r t Gallery,
Liverpool); 53 (courtesy of Sotheby's, New
York); and 66 (courtesy of Academy of M o t i o n
Picture Arts and Sciences).
 C O N T E N T S

A l m a Tadema and Spring 7

Spring's Festival 10

The I m p o r t a n c e of Details 40

A r t and Empire 72

Notes 91

Selected B i b l i o g r a p h y 94

Acknowledgments 9 7
 Alma Tadema and Spring

SIR LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A (frontispiece) was a successful artist a n d a

fundamentally h a p p y m a n . B o r n i n p r o v i n c i a l H o l l a n d and t r a i n e d i n A n t w e r p , by the

age of t h i r t y he h a d established his r e p u t a t i o n as a painter of ancient and medieval his
tory. I n 1 8 7 0 he m o v e d t o L o n d o n , h o m e of his influential dealer, G a m b a r t , and most
of his w e a l t h y patrons. H a p p i l y m a r r i e d , satisfied w i t h his w o r k , successful i n his ca
reer, loved by the p u b l i c , esteemed by fellow artists regardless of aesthetic rivalries, and
r i c h enough t o afford l u x u r i e s i f there was more t o w a n t f r o m life, A l m a Tadema
seems n o t t o have missed it. H i s great passions were his p a i n t i n g , the decoration of his
house, the p r o d u c t i v i t y of his garden, a n d music. Friends described his sense of h u m o r
as ready, simple, even c h i l d i s h ; he was also obsessively neat. H i s politics were conser
1

vative and i m p e r i a l i s t . T h e rise o f socialism, the g r o w i n g tensions between European

states, the a l i e n a t i o n of the artistic avant-garde, the p l i g h t of the i n d u s t r i a l classes
such issues never clouded the aesthetic dreams A l m a Tadema lived and p a i n t e d .

L i v i n g i n an artificial paradise o f his o w n creation, A l m a Tadema devoted

m o s t of his career t o p a i n t i n g other ones. H i s paintings t h a t ostensibly represent scenes
f r o m ancient R o m a n life are filled w i t h the prosperity, ease, sociability, amenities, a n d
tidiness characteristic of his o w n w o r l d . They reflect n o t only his character and life
style b u t also his love of his w o r k : the laying of p a i n t o n t o canvas.
A l m a Tadema's paintings have always been n o t e d for their technical perfec
t i o n , w e a l t h of detail, and careful finish. H e h a d the m i s f o r t u n e t o end his career as
these very qualities were being challenged by new styles and movements: Impression
ism a n d S y m b o l i s m ( w h i c h he admired) and Post-Impressionism a n d m o d e r n i s m

Figure 1 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, 1 8 9 5 . O i l o n

canvas, 1 7 8 . 4 x 8 0 cm ( 7 0 % x
3 i V z in.). M a l i b u , J. Paul Getty Museum 7 2 . P A . 3 .

7
( w h i c h he d i d n o t ) . T h e vogue for his p a i n t i n g h a d ended i n avant-garde circles by the
2

early 1880s; by the 1890s even his admirers w a n t e d m o r e poetry, fewer details, and an
end t o antique fantasy. By then, however, A l m a Tadema had become a n a t u r a l i z e d B r i t
ish citizen and member of the R o y a l Academy, and he was soon t o be k n i g h t e d . H i s
paintings were collected by the wealthy and p o w e r f u l of Europe and A m e r i c a ; p r i n t s
after t h e m were b o u g h t by the m i d d l e classes everywhere. H i s p o s i t i o n seemed u n
shakable. Consequently, his fall, w h e n i t came, was a l l the m o r e d r a m a t i c . A l m a Tad
ema died i n 1912, and his r e p u t a t i o n perished soon thereafter. C h a n g i n g styles o f art,
changing tastes, and the effects of the First W o r l d W a r h a d m u c h t o do w i t h this.

Spring (fig. 1, foldout) is a fine and i m p o r t a n t example of A l m a Tadema's art.

T h e t a l l , n a r r o w p a i n t i n g , encased i n its t y p i c a l , ponderous frame inspired by classical
architecture and designed by the artist himself, was completed i n 1895 after four years
of sporadic w o r k and at least one alteration. I t represents a procession w i n d i n g its w a y
t h r o u g h the n a r r o w marble passageways of w h a t one m i g h t imagine t o be ancient
R o m e . Y o u n g girls bear baskets of flowers, perhaps as an offering t o a g o d ; they are
escorted by self-conscious maidens w i e l d i n g branches. T a m b o u r i n e and pipe players
lend cadence t o their steps. Behind t h e m the procession assumes a sacred character,
w i t h bearers of chalice, casket, and i v o r y altar emerging f r o m the r i g h t . T h e populace
seems t o have t u r n e d o u t along the parade route i n a j u b i l a n t m o o d . T h e architecture
and groups of figures p r o v i d e the basic structure of the c o m p o s i t i o n and are the key t o
the painting's subject. H o w e v e r , color, life, and interest come f r o m the details t h a t
cover its surface like fantastic e m b r o i d e r y o n a conventionally cut garment. Bits of col
u m n s , bunches of flowers, glimpses of silver and bronze reveal A l m a Tadema's love of
" w o r k " and his concentration o n small issues.
Spring's fate f o l l o w e d A l m a Tadema's o w n . E x h i b i t e d t o great effect at the
R o y a l A c a d e m y i n 1895, reproduced i n thousands of p r i n t s , and sold at ever higher
prices i n the decades preceding the First W o r l d War, i t vanished f r o m sight after the
artist's m e m o r i a l e x h i b i t i o n i n 1913. I t reemerged i n Southern C a l i f o r n i a i n the 1970s
i n the w a k e of p u b l i c i t y s u r r o u n d i n g television personality A l l e n F u n t a n d his collec
t i o n of w o r k s of art by "the w o r s t painter of the nineteenth century." Funt's c o l l e c t i n g
3

8
of A l m a Tadema's w o r k , m o t i v a t e d , i t w o u l d seem, by aesthetic perversity, nevertheless
c o i n c i d e d w i t h m o r e serious reevaluations o f nineteenth-century academic a r t l e d by
universities a n d museums. N o t only A l m a Tadema b u t also his contemporaries such as
the French artist W i l l i a m A d o l p h e Bouguereau began t o attract widespread a t t e n t i o n
and a d m i r a t i o n . I n 1972 Spring was purchased at a u c t i o n by the Getty M u s e u m after
sharp c o m p e t i t i o n f r o m F u n t , a n d i n 1974 i t t o o k its place i n the re-created R o m a n v i l l a
constructed t o house the o i l billionaire's g r o w i n g collections. T h e purchase was i n one
sense a misguided one, for i t was t h o u g h t t h a t this V i c t o r i a n daydream w o u l d illustrate
the realities of life i n ancient R o m e , something i t c o u l d n o t d o . Yet, i n another sense i t
4

was a b r i l l i a n t a c q u i s i t i o n , for Spring r a p i d l y became, a n d has remained, the public's

favorite w o r k o f a r t i n the M u s e u m . Steady interest i n the p a i n t i n g has s t i m u l a t e d ex
tensive research i n t o its history, subject, c o m p o s i t i o n , a n d significance, so t h a t today i t
can b o t h be appreciated as a beautiful a n d engaging w o r k o f a r t a n d u n d e r s t o o d as a
poetic statement o f late V i c t o r i a n idealism.

9
 Spring's Festival

A L M A T A D E M A ' S choice of a festival t o represent s p r i n g t i m e resulted f r o m

several influences. One was the emphasis o n processional and r i t u a l i n the art and l i t
erature of the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t i n B r i t a i n . A n o t h e r was the a b u n d a n t available doc
u m e n t a t i o n concerning spring celebrations i n antique times. A t h i r d was the r i s i n g
p o p u l a r i t y of s i m i l a r festivals i n late nineteenth-century L o n d o n . A n e x a m i n a t i o n of
Spring's sources reveals t h a t its subjectapparently an obvious onecontains a r i c h
ness of m e a n i n g w h i c h adds significantly t o one's enjoyment of the w h o l e .
A l m a Tadema h a d t w o clues t o the painting's subject inscribed o n its magnif
icent gilded frame. O n the t o p is w r i t t e n Spring, and o n the b o t t o m are four lines f r o m
a p o e m by the great w r i t e r of the late V i c t o r i a n age, A l g e r n o n Charles S w i n b u r n e :

In a land of clear colours and stories,

In a region of shadowless hours,
Where earth has a garment of glories
And a murmur of musical flowers.

A l m a Tadema o m i t t e d the rest of the verse, w h i c h continues:

In woods where the spring half uncovers

The flush of her amorous face,
By the waters that listen for lovers,
For these is there place? 5

A l m a Tadema t o o k the verse f r o m a p o e m entitled " D e d i c a t i o n , " w h i c h S w i n b u r n e h a d

w r i t t e n i n 1865 i n h o n o r of the painter E d w a r d Burne-Jones. Burne-Jones, a Pre-
Raphaelite artist of great imaginative power, was a g o o d friend of A l m a Tadema de
spite their m a r k e d l y different characters and artistic philosophies. T h e former, an as
sociate of the R o y a l Academy, remained w e l l outside the B r i t i s h artistic establishment,

10
 Figure 2. J . E L M S L Y I N G L I S (British) after
Lawrence Alma Tadema. Bookplate. Etch
ing. Birmingham University Library, Alma
Tadema Collection (uncatalogued).

whereas the latter f o l l o w e d a conservative and practical course t o fame and f o r t u n e .

H o w e v e r , b o t h artists a d m i r e d Swinburne's poetry, w h i c h h a d p r o v i d e d the l i t e r a r y i m
petus for B r i t i s h aestheticism of the 1870s and '80s. The Aesthetic M o v e m e n t , o u t of
w h i c h Burne-Jones emerged as a leading painter and designer, h a d begun i n the 1870s
as a reaction against the i n d u s t r i a l l y d r i v e n m a t e r i a l i s m of m i d c e n t u r y . The m o v e m e n t
d r e w i n s p i r a t i o n f r o m medieval arts and crafts as interpreted by the designer W i l l i a m
M o r r i s ; f r o m the simple yet l u x u r i o u s fabrics i m p o r t e d f r o m the O r i e n t by the recently
f o u n d e d L i b e r t y and C o m p a n y , L o n d o n ; and f r o m paintings and i n t e r i o r decorations
by the A m e r i c a n expatriate artist James A b b o t t M c N e i l l W h i s t l e r . M a n y o f its leaders
were as radical p o l i t i c a l l y and socially as they were artistically. As an A c a d e m i c i a n ,
classicist, and L o n d o n socialite, A l m a Tadema never belonged t o the m o v e m e n t , al
t h o u g h he a d m i r e d its leaders, shared their ideas o n i n t e r i o r design, and often e x h i b i t e d
his w o r k w i t h theirs. T h e i r influence o n his p a i n t i n g appears i n his preference for easily

II
Figure 3. E D W A R D B U R N E - J O N E S (British, 1 8 3 3 - 1 8 9 8 ) . Flora, or Spring,
1 8 6 8 - 1 8 8 4 . O i l on canvas, 96.5 x 66 cm (38 x z 6 in.). London, Owen Edgar
Gallery.
Figure 4 . L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A . The Vintage Festival, 1 8 7 0 . O i l on canvas, 7 7 x 1 7 7 cm
(30V4X 68 Yz in.). Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle 1906.

grasped subjects, his beautiful settings and models, the absence of d r a m a t i c e m o t i o n a l

display, and his elegant color schemes.
T h e use of literature t o evoke a m o o d rather t h a n structure a narrative was also
t y p i c a l of the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t . Swinburne's " D e d i c a t i o n , " w h i c h sets the m o o d
6

for Spring, is a b o u t beauty, decay, and the artist's melancholy task of describing beau
t i f u l things before they are lost t o the forces of t i m e . Swinburne's final question"For
these is there place?"is addressed t o the artist whose paintings are the "place" i n
w h i c h evanescent beauty may be preserved. E m u l a t i n g Burne-Jones by r e i m a g i n i n g the
past, A l m a Tadema made Spring the "place" where the "clear colours," "shadowless
h o u r s , " flowers, and music of Swinburne's fleeting season were captured. T h e antique
setting a n d detailsstandard i n the painter's w o r k s e e m especially appropriate for
Swinburne's nostalgic evocation o f bygone times. H o w e v e r , u n l i k e either S w i n b u r n e
or Burne-Jones, A l m a Tadema was n o poet, n o r d i d he excel i n feats of i m a g i n a t i o n .
H i s artistic c h a r a c t e r o p t i m i s t i c , l i t e r a l - m i n d e d , careful, and d e s c r i p t i v e c o u l d n o t
have been further removed f r o m the r o m a n t i c a n d fantastical m e n t a l i t y o f Aesthetic

13
Figure 5. Flamens and the Family of Augustus. Frieze from south side of the Ara Pads Augustae,
Roman, 1 3 - 9 B.C. Carrara marble.

M o v e m e n t artists. N o t surprisingly, he selected the only four lines of " D e d i c a t i o n "

w h i c h m i g h t be considered cheerful. They are r e m a r k a b l y close t o his personal m o t t o ,
"As the sun colours flowers, so art colors l i f e " (see fig. 2 ) , an altogether happier v i e w of
beauty, art, and m o r t a l i t y t h a n those f o u n d i n S w i n b u r n e o r Burne-Jones.
Consequently, w h i l e certain elements i n the p a i n t i n g and the p o e m seem t o
m a t c h o r overlap, Spring is m u c h more the p r o d u c t of A l m a Tadema's spirit t h a n of
Swinburne's. T h e poet's aesthetic i m a g i n a t i o n gives w a y t o the painter's aesthetic ped
antry. T h i s is i m m e d i a t e l y apparent i n A l m a Tadema's approach t o the subject.
Whereas S w i n b u r n e visualized a pastoral landscape w i t h lovers, A l m a Tadema p a i n t e d
a r i t u a l procession t h r o u g h marble passageways. T h r o u g h o u t his career, he p o r t r a y e d

14
Figure 6. W I L L I A M P O W E L L F R I T H (British, 1 8 1 9 - 1 9 0 9 ) . The Railway Station, 1 8 6 2 . O i l on
canvas, 116.8 x 256.5 cm (46 x 101 in.). Surrey, Royal Holloway College.

Figure 7. F R E D E R I C K , L O R D L E I G H T O N (British, 1 8 3 0 - 1 8 9 6 ) . The Dapknepkoria, 1874-

1876. O i l on canvas, 2 2 6 x 5 1 8 . 2 cm ( 8 9 x 2 0 4 in.). National Museums and Galleries on Mer-
seyside (Port Sunlight, Lady Lever A r t Gallery).
h i s t o r i c a l events, h u m a n passions, a n d even nature itself i n terms of rituals a n d cere
monies. T h u s , he usually represented the changing of the seasons, one of his favorite
themes, n o t , as one m i g h t expect, by means of a landscape o r s y m b o l i c female figure
(see fig. 3) b u t by some procession o r dance dedicated t o the antique deity associated
w i t h t h a t season. The Vintage Festival (1870; fig. 4) celebrating Bacchus a n d the end
of summer was the first of numerous such processionals.
T h e procession is one of the oldest and most h o n o r a b l e themes i n the h i s t o r y
of art. Processions are f o u n d i n E g y p t i a n t o m b frescoes and o n Greek temple reliefs, o n
R o m a n altars (see fig. 5) a n d i n Renaissance paintings. T h e i r i m p o r t a n c e i n art reflects
their i m p o r t a n c e i n Western h i s t o r y ; processions celebrate the great religious a n d civic
events of their times. L i k e numerous other ancient t r a d i t i o n s , however, religious a n d
civic processions h a d gone i n t o p a r t i a l eclipse i n the first h a l f of the nineteenth century.
Political r e v o l u t i o n , u r b a n i z a t i o n , and i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n h a d d i s r u p t e d the ancient
cycles of feasts and anniversaries; other p o p u l a r entertainments such as theatrical pre
sentations, expositions, and fairs p r o v i d e d c o m p e t i t i o n . I n E n g l a n d , Queen V i c t o r i a ' s
c o r o n a t i o n i n 1837 was the last i m p o r t a n t state occasion for fifty years.
By the 1890s, however, the governments of Europe h a d rediscovered the use
fulness o f processions and were encouraging their revival. I n the cities, elaborate pa
rades o f soldiery, royalty, and expensive equipages helped t o i n s t i l l p a t r i o t i c p r i d e i n
the hearts of the masses. I n the countryside, where t r a d i t i o n a l society was collapsing as
a result of the i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n of agriculture, o l d and faintly disreputable customs
such as M a y festivals were revived i n an effort t o ease tensions. I n b o t h city a n d c o u n
7

try, civic processions emphasized c o n t i n u i t y , stability, and social a n d p o l i t i c a l u n i t y

all h i g h l y desirable i n an age of s p r a w l i n g p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h , extremes of w e a l t h a n d
misery, a n d constant p o l i t i c a l t u r m o i l . T h e most i m p o r t a n t state ceremonies of this pe
r i o d i n E n g l a n d were Queen V i c t o r i a ' s jubilees celebrating the fiftieth a n d s i x t i e t h years
of her reign ( i n 1887 a n d 1897), f o l l o w e d by numerous state weddings of her children
a n d g r a n d c h i l d r e n a n d frequent receptions for v i s i t i n g heads of state. 8

V i c t o r i a n artists seem t o have used processions i n a parallel manner: as a

means of o r d e r i n g a n d c o n t r o l l i n g c r o w d e d canvases. M i d c e n t u r y painters such as

16
Figure 8. L A W R E N C E A L M A T A D E M A . On the Road to the Temple of
Ceres: A Spring Festival, 1 8 7 9 . O i l on canvas, 89 x 53.1 cm (3 5 x zoV 4

in.). New York, Forbes Magazine Collection.

Figure 9. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of procession.

W i l l i a m Powell F r i t h (see fig. 6) depicted c o n t e m p o r a r y crowds i n a l l their splendid

bustle and confusion, candidly representing confrontations between r i c h and p o o r ,
h i g h and l o w , sophisticated L o n d o n e r and r o u g h p r o v i n c i a l . Later artists i n c l u d i n g
A l m a Tadema himself (fig. 4) and Frederick, L o r d Leigh ton (see fig. 7), lined their char
acters u p a c c o r d i n g t o age, sex, o r social f u n c t i o n , reformed their dress, idealized their
features, and m a r c h e d t h e m off t o suitable destinations. The resulting sense of order,
h a r m o n y , a n d grandeur satisfied b o t h artistic and p o l i t i c a l ideals.
For a l o n g t i m e i t was believed t h a t the procession represented i n Spring hon-

18
o r e d Ceres, a R o m a n f e r t i l i t y deity closely connected w i t h agriculture. T h e 1895 c o m
9

p o s i t i o n appeared t o be a r e t h i n k i n g of a subject A l m a Tadema h a d first p a i n t e d i n

1879 i n On the Road to the Temple of Ceres: A Spring Festival (fig. 8). B o t h pictures
are v e r t i c a l a n d depict musical maidens, garlanded revelers, and distant throngs of o n
lookers. T h e later p a i n t i n g m i g h t represent the actual a r r i v a l at the temple, w i t h people
o n their best behavior as they approach the sanctuary. H i s t o r i c a l evidence seemed t o
s u p p o r t this i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h the Cerealia. T h e scholarly A l m a Tadema h a d read de
scriptions o f this event by the R o m a n poet O v i d w h i c h indicated t h a t i t h a d been one
of the m o s t i m p o r t a n t spring festivals. I n r e p u b l i c a n R o m e i t was celebrated o n A p r i l
19 w i t h games i n the Circus M a x i m u s , near the site of the temple dedicated t o the g o d
dess's c u l t . 10
T h e details of A l m a Tadema's Spring do n o t always correspond t o Ovid's
d e s c r i p t i o n , however; f o r example, he stated t h a t the celebrants always w o r e w h i t e .
T h e details of Spring d o n o t correspond closely t o w h a t is k n o w n of any other antique
festival either.

A l m a Tadema shared his fascination w i t h r i t u a l w i t h the novelist and critic

Walter Pater, like E d w a r d Burne-Jones a key figure i n the Aesthetic M o v e m e n t . M o r e
over, i n Pater's w o r k as i n A l m a Tadema's, one finds emphases o n neatness, cleanliness,
p u r i t y , and refined sensuality. S t r i k i n g parallels can be d r a w n between A l m a Tadema's
festival p a i n t i n g s and the numerous processional scenes i n Pater's 1885 novel Marius
the Epicurean, 11
w h i c h recreates the life of an aristocratic y o u n g R o m a n d u r i n g the dec
adence of the E m p i r e . Its l a n g u i d sensuality and m i n u t e l y described rituals struck a
sympathetic note w i t h the aesthetes of i m p e r i a l L o n d o n ; A l m a Tadema w o u l d espe
cially have a d m i r e d the range and depth of Pater's k n o w l e d g e of classical c i v i l i z a t i o n .
I n the first chapter Pater describes a spring festival, the A m b a r v a l i a , t h a t i n v o l v e d a
procession w i t h the flower girls, incense and w a t e r bearers, and p o r t a b l e altars f o u n d
i n A l m a Tadema's Spring (fig. 9 ) . Pater w r o t e :

Early on that [festival] day the girls of the farm had been busy in the great portico, filling
large baskets of flowers plucked short from branches of apple and cherry, then in spacious
bloom, to strew before the quaint images of the godsCeres and Bacchus and the yet more

19
 mysterious Dea Diaas they passed through the fields, carried in their little houses on the
shoulders of white-clad youths, who were understood to proceed to this office in perfect
temperance, as pure in soul and body as the air they breathed in the firm weather of that
early summer-time. The clean lustral water and the full incense-box were carried after
them. The altars were gay with garlands of wool and the more sumptuous sort of blossom
and green herbs to be thrown into the sacrificial fire, fresh-gathered this morning from a
particular plot in the old garden, set apart for the purpose. 12

Despite Spring's resemblance t o aspects of the Cerealia and A m b a r v a l i a , there

are indications t h a t A l m a Tadema actually intended t o p o r t r a y a different spring fes
t i v a l , the F l o r a l i a . A t least one of his critics identified the subject i n 1895 a s
"festival
rejoicings i n h o n o u r of the Goddess of the Blossoms that usually occurred between the
2 8 t h o f A p r i l and the 2 n d of M a y . " 1 3
A c c o r d i n g t o O v i d , the Floralia, a f e r t i l i t y festival
like the Cerealia, o r i g i n a t e d i n the countryside. I n R o m e i t was d o m i n a t e d by p r o s t i
tutes w h o p e r f o r m e d i n the nude and sometimes fought i n g l a d i a t o r i a l contests. 14
Such
behavior seems far f r o m the minds of the decorous marchers i n Spring. N o r has the
c u l m i n a t i n g event of the games, the release of hares and goats i n the C o l i s e u m , m u c h
t o d o w i t h A l m a Tadema's picture. H o w e v e r , flowers were scattered a m o n g the c r o w d s
d u r i n g the F l o r a l i a , and the m u l t i c o l o r e d dresses of A l m a Tadema's w o m e n d o corre
spond t o the ancient accounts of celebrants decked o u t i n c o l o r f u l spring fashions. I f
A l m a Tadema d i d consult O v i d and Juvenal, another R o m a n author, o n the F l o r a l i a ,
he used their texts just as he used m o d e r n onesselectively.
T h e activities of Spring's participants and spectators p r o v i d e the m o s t i m p o r
t a n t clue t o the festival's i d e n t i t y as the Floralia. The maidens and y o u n g girls i n the
f o r e g r o u n d carry baskets of flowers or branches of flowering trees. M u s i c i a n s accom
pany t h e m w h i l e spectators i n the o v e r l o o k i n g balconies salute their passage a n d
shower t h e m w i t h m o r e flowers. A l t h o u g h such rituals have n o t h i n g t o d o w i t h the
Floralia as recorded by O v i d and appear closer t o the A m b a r v a l i a described by Pater,
i n V i c t o r i a n times they were unfailingly identified w i t h the Floralia's t r a d i t i o n a l E n
glish descendants: m a y i n g ceremonies. O c c u r r i n g every year o n M a y 1, these V i c t o r i a n
festivals celebrated the c o m i n g of spring and the beauty of flowers w h i l e seeking t o re-

20
 Figure 10. G E O R G E C R U I K S H A N K
(British, 1 7 9 2 - 1 8 7 8 ) . The First of
May, 1850. Etching. Reproduced
from C . Dickens, "The First of
May," in Sketches by Boz ( 1 8 5 0 ;
Philadelphia, 1873), PP- P- 9 5 - z

fine o r suppress the Floralia's pagan h i s t o r y and erotic r e p u t a t i o n . A c c o r d i n g t o an

early V i c t o r i a n c o m p e n d i u m , The Language and Sentiment of Flowers,

These May-day morning practices are generally supposed to have been the lingering re
mains of the rites instituted by the ancients in honour of Flora. . . . In country places it was
formerly the custom for lads and lasses to get up soon after midnight, and accompanied
by such music as the village afforded, to walk in a body to some neighbouring wood; there
they gathered as many branches and nosegays of flowers as they could carry, and then re
turned home about sunrise in joyous procession, garlanded with flowers, and laden w i t h
blossomy boughs, with which to decorate the doors and windows. 15

T h e a u t h o r feared t h a t the practice of g o i n g m a y i n g w o u l d soon fall v i c t i m t o m o d e r n -

21
Figure n . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of procession.

i z a t i o n , since "the remains of the o l d practices are . . . i n m o s t places confined t o the

small chaplets of cowslips and blue bells w h i c h are borne by little t i m i d c o u n t r y girls
or rosy u r c h i n s , whose y o u n g voices salute one w i t h 'Please remember the May.' " 1 6
In
L o n d o n the festival was celebrated by chimney sweeps, whose i m p o v e r i s h e d versions
of the c o u n t r y r i t u a l (see fig. 10) caused Charles Dickens t o e x c l a i m , " H o w has M a y
day d e c a y e d ! " 17

22
Figure 12. A [ L F R E D ] C R O W Q U I L L [ A L F R E D H E N R Y FORRESTER] (British, 1 8 0 4 - 1 8 7 2 ) . Chil
dren's May-Day Customs. Reproduced from R. Chambers, ed., The Book of Days: A Miscellany
of Popular Antiquities . . . (London and Edinburgh, 1863), vol. 1, p. 573.

By the second h a l f of the century, however, the M a y festival was r e t u r n i n g t o

city a n d c o u n t r y alike. Chambers's Book of Days a t t r i b u t e d its resurgence t o the very
forces t h a t h a d b r o u g h t about its previous decline:

Amongst the Romans, the feeling of the time [spring] found vent in their Floralia, or Floral
Games, which began on the 2 8 t h of April, and lasted a few days. Nations taking more or

*3
Figure 1 3 . J A M E S H A Y L L A R (British, 18 2 9 - 1 9 2 0 ) . May Day. O i l on
canvas, I O I . 6 X 152.4 cm ( 4 0 x 6 0 in.). Dallas, Private collection.

Figure 1 4 . A L E X A N D E R D E M E T R I U S G O L Z (Hungarian,b. 1 8 5 7 ) . May-

time, circa 1 8 9 3 . Reproduced from Illustrated London News 102, no.
2 8 2 4 (June 3, 1 8 9 3 ) , p. 6 7 3 .
 less their origin from Rome have settled upon the ist of May as the special time for fetes
of the same kind. W i t h ancients and moderns alike it was one instinctive rush to the fields,
to revel in the bloom which was newly presented on the meadows and the trees; the more
city-pent the population, the more eager apparently the desire to get among the flowers,
and bring away samples of them; the more sordidly drudging the life, the more hearty the
relish for this one day of communion with things pure and beautiful. 18

I n Spring the l i t t l e girls bearing flowers i n the forefront of the procession carry o u t the
m o s t h a l l o w e d o f English M a y rituals (fig. n ) . They m i g h t almost have been adapted
f r o m Chambers's i l l u s t r a t i o n o f children's M a y D a y customs i n a c o u n t r y village (fig.
12). T h e i r presence at the front and center of the c o m p o s i t i o n clearly indicates t h a t
A l m a Tadema intended t o recreate a R o m a n ancestor of the English M a y festival.

A c c o r d i n g t o the critic F. G . Stephens, w h o saw the p a i n t i n g i n the spring of

1894 and again a year later, i n Spring's o r i g i n a l c o m p o s i t i o n the m a y i n g c h i l d r e n re
sembled Chambers's description very closely. B o t h girls and boys m a r c h e d i n the
procession, the girls c a r r y i n g flowers, the boys m a k i n g music. Stephens n o t i c e d w i t h
surprise t h a t A l m a Tadema h a d altered the character of the parade drastically i n the
i n t e r v e n i n g m o n t h s . The male musicians h a d for the most p a r t either disappeared o r
been t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o females (the three t a m b o u r i n e players i n the m i d d l e of the
procession). 19
By e l i m i n a t i n g the male youths, A l m a Tadema h a d b r o u g h t Spring into
c o n f o r m i t y w i t h a great many V i c t o r i a n paintings of M a y ceremonies w h i c h b y em
phasizing small female c h i l d r e n a v o i d any suggestion of pagan i m m o r a l i t y (see figs.
1 3 , 1 4 ) . These prepubescent girls naively enjoy their i n i t i a t i o n i n t o picturesque village
t r a d i t i o n . A l w a y s t r a n q u i l , shaded w i t h nostalgia and sentiment, such childish rituals
evoke a distant w o r l d of t r a d i t i o n , peace, and the simple p u r i t y of c o u n t r y life.
Despite the fact t h a t they were, i n reality, the usual celebrants, adolescents
were excluded f r o m direct p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n such sentimentalized representations. I t
w o u l d seem t h a t even the image of teenagers of b o t h sexes gathering flowers i n the
w o o d s o n a spring m o r n i n g m i g h t have been considered i m m o r a l (as the practice itself
certainly was considered; maying's p o t e n t i a l as an o p p o r t u n i t y for y o u t h f u l sexual ad
ventures was one reason w h y the festivals h a d nearly been suppressed early i n the cen-

2.5
Figure 15. F O R D M A D O X B R O W N
(British, 1 8 2 1 - 1 8 9 3 ) . May Mem
ories, 18691884. O i l on canvas,
4 2 x 31.8 cm (16 A x izVz in.).
T

London, Fischer Fine Art, Ltd.

tury). 20
A l f r e d , L o r d Tennyson hints d a r k l y at the pagan t e m p t a t i o n s o f the village M a y
festival i n his p o e m " T h e M a y Queen," published i n 1833 a n d revised i n 1 8 4 2 . 21
His
r u r a l heroine exuberantly anticipates her brief reign as M a y Queen a n d then, seven
m o n t h s later o n N e w Year's Eve (another pagan h o l i d a y ) , anticipates death f r o m the
(unspecified) consequences of her M a y D a y activities. I n the revised version a final verse
allows her t o find C h r i s t i a n repentance and consolation before actually d y i n g i n
M a r c h , the season of Easter.

A few artists used the M a y festival t o illustrate a woman's t r a n s i t i o n f r o m

26
Figure 16. H U B E R T V O N H E R K O M E R (British, 1 8 4 9 - 1 9 1 4 ) . The Queen of the May, 1 8 9 2 . Re
produced from Illustrated London News 100, no. 2 7 7 1 (May 2 8 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 6 6 4 .

c o u n t r y innocence t o sophisticated c o r r u p t i o n . F o r d M a d o x Brown's May Memories

(fig. 15) portrays his w i f e overcome by memories evoked by the M a y blossom (haw-
thorne) i n her left h a n d . T h e former simple c o u n t r y g i r l appears coarsened by city life
and its artificial refinements. M o r e d r a m a t i c is H u b e r t v o n H e r k o m e r ' s Queen of the
May (fig. 16), based o n a chapter i n T h o m a s H a r d y ' s novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles.22

A t the village M a y dance Tess has encountered the t r a v e l i n g student A n g e l Clare; cor
r u p t e d by dreams of a grander future, she returns t o her mother's d a r k , c r a m p e d cottage
and life of constant t o i l . H a r d y and H e r k o m e r were describing the r u i n o u s influence o f

27
Figure 17. T H O M A S W A L T E R W I L S O N (British, 1 8 5 1 - 1 9 1 2 ) . The Bridesmaids Wait
ing for the Bride, 1 8 9 3 . Reproduced from Illustrated London News 103, Royal Wed
ding Number (July 10, 1893), p. 3.
Figure 18. A R T H U R D R U M M O N D (British, 1 8 7 1 - 1 9 5 1 ) . A Roman Wedding, 1898. Oil on can
vas, 56 x 103 cm ( 2 2 x 4 0 in.). Courtesy of Sotheby's, London.

m o d e r n sophistication and a t t a c k i n g the unreal v i s i o n of c o u n t r y l i v i n g p r o m u l g a t e d

by sentimental traditionalists.
Q u i t e possibly, A l m a Tadema, a L o n d o n dweller f r o m his a r r i v a l i n E n g l a n d
i n 1870, h a d never seen a p r o v i n c i a l M a y ceremony. H e w o u l d have been m u c h m o r e
f a m i l i a r and c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h another p u b l i c V i c t o r i a n r i t u a l i n v o l v i n g small female
children, the fashionable u r b a n w e d d i n g ceremony w i t h its fleets o f flower girls. I n f o r m
and f u n c t i o n the c o n t e m p o r a r y w e d d i n g closely resembled the nostalgic children's M a y
ceremony. B o t h featured processions o f blossoming females laden w i t h b u d d i n g f o
liage, the i m p l i c i t f e r t i l i t y theme safely veiled by C h r i s t i a n r i t u a l . A w e d d i n g m a r k e d
the flower girl's first p u b l i c appearance and f o r m a l l y i n i t i a t e d her progression f r o m
c h i l d t o debutante t o w i f e and mother. M a y festivals m i g h t be said t o have i n i t i a t e d the
same sequence m u c h more casually. Therefore, the resemblance of Spring's flower-
bearing children t o little bridesmaids (see fig. 17) may n o t be entirely c o i n c i d e n t a l . T h e

29
former's floral w r e a t h s c o o r d i n a t e d w i t h the contents of their baskets, all carefully
sorted by c o l o r and v a r i e t y s m a c k more of expensive florists' bouquets t h a n o f r a n
d o m gatherings f r o m the fields. I n fact, these qualities later induced the painter A r t h u r
D r u m m o n d t o b o r r o w Spring's flower bearers t o serve i n his amusing Roman Wedding
( 1 8 9 8 ; fig. 18). D r u m m o n d ' s flower c h i l d r e n , w h i l e e v o k i n g the innocent t r a d i t i o n s o f
r u r a l life, were smartened u p t o m a t c h their glistening u r b a n e n v i r o n m e n t .

A l m a Tadema was n o t content simply t o glamorize the children's ceremonies,

however. T h e i r older companions, c a r r y i n g flowering boughs (fig. 11), parade i n the
neat lines characteristic o f w h a t was then a new type of M a y festival celebrated specif
ically by y o u n g ladies attending i n s t i t u t i o n s of higher learning. These festivals, occur
r i n g at the end o f the school year, m a r k e d the students' passage f r o m a state o f c h i l d i s h
innocence t o w h a t their teachers h o p e d w o u l d be lives of w o m a n l y v i r t u e . Ironically,
these V i c t o r i a n school festivalsstill c l a i m i n g descent f r o m the F l o r a l i a p r o m o t e d
the preservation o f v i r t u e just as determinedly as the o l d pagan F l o r a l i a h a d celebrated
its loss.
A l l of the school festivals were distinguished by an infusion o f C h r i s t i a n r i t u a l
a n d the t o t a l absence of p o t e n t i a l l y d i s t u r b i n g representatives o f the opposite sex. T h e
p r o t o t y p i c a l event may have been the ancient ceremony staged at a men's college, M a g
dalen, at O x f o r d . I t was believed t h a t the M a g d a l e n ceremony, loosely connected w i t h
f o l k t r a d i t i o n s d a t i n g back t o the Floralia, h a d replaced a C a t h o l i c mass at the t i m e of
the Protestant R e f o r m a t i o n under H e n r y V I I I . H o w e v e r , like the r u r a l M a y festivals,
i t h a d nearly succumbed i n the early nineteenth century, only t o be rescued a n d re
f o r m e d i n the 1840s. 23
Every first of M a y , undergraduates c l i m b e d t o the t o p o f M a g
dalen Tower t o welcome the sunrise w i t h a b l o w i n g of horns, tossing of caps, and ex
p l o s i o n o f fireworks i n h o n o r of Queen V i c t o r i a and the Prince of Wales. 24
A note o f
C h r i s t i a n solemnity was struck at 5 a.m., w h e n bells t o l l e d and the w h i t e - r o b e d c h o i r
sang the Te Deum i n L a t i n . I t was this solemn yet j o y f u l m o m e n t w h i c h the Pre-
Raphaelite painter H o l m a n H u n t selected for his m o n u m e n t a l May Morning on Mag
dalen Tower (fig. 19), e x h i b i t e d at the Grosvenor Gallery i n 1 8 9 1 . T h e p a i n t i n g , w i t h
its masses of flowers a n d exalted choristers, emphasizes the religiosity o f the m o m e n t . 25

30
 T h e first of the new, C h r i s t i a n i z e d , a n d m o r a l l y refined festivals for girls was
f o u n d e d at W h i t e l a n d s College near L o n d o n i n 1 8 8 1 . I t was i n a u g u r a t e d by the famed
art c r i t i c a n d O x f o r d graduate J o h n R u s k i n ( w h o t o o k a strong personal interest i n fe
male education) i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h the school's p r i n c i p a l , the Reverend J. R Faun-
t h o r p e . D o i n g away w i t h prizes earned t h r o u g h c o m p e t i t i o n , the school r e w a r d e d an
o u t s t a n d i n g student by electing her t o be M a y Queen. (It m u s t be r e m a r k e d t h a t Rus-
kin's concept of a M a y Queen distinguished by brains rather t h a n beauty was unusual.)
T h e Reverend Faunthorpe described the ceremonies i n the queen's h o n o r : " F i r s t comes
the procession i n t o chapel, the students singing 'For a l l T h y love a n d goodness' o r some
other suitable Spring h y m n . " The chapel was filled w i t h

one hundred and sixty young girls all clad in some simple dress and crowned w i t h or car
rying flowers. . . . There is a special collect for the giver of the day's pleasure [John Rus
kin]. . . . Procession round the small garden, weather permitting; procession through the
day room and up to the dais follows, led by the last year's May Queen, headed by about
twenty of the tallest students with flower wands; all do obeisance and take their seats,
whereupon the last year's Queen resigns, with a pretty speech, and has a fillet of Forget-
me-nots put upon her head. . . .The ballot for the May Queen then takes place, and during
the time the votes are being counted the Principal makes a short address on some topic
suitable to the occasion, as, for example, booksMr. Ruskin's books; his teaching; what
he wishes girls to learn, viz. how to cook, sew, and look pretty. . . . As soon as the [new]
Queen can be dressed, and as soon as she and her maidens have decided to w h o m the forty
volumes are to be given, all of which takes a good hour or more; time occupied by the stu
dents in more songs, and more dances, and more glees, and solos on the piano, & c , then
follows the May Queen's procession . . . all the students two and two. 26

By the early '90s the W h i t e l a n d s r i t u a l h a d become famous t h r o u g h o u t B r i t

a i n , a n d since m a n y of the school's p u p i l s became teachers a n d p r i n c i p a l s themselves,
i t soon h a d m a n y i m i t a t o r s . For example, the H i g h School for Girls at C o r k (under M i s s
M a r t i n , f r o m W h i t e l a n d s ) was able t o persuade R u s k i n t o design a Rose Queen cere
m o n y t h a t h o n o r e d n o t only o u t s t a n d i n g students (see fig. 20) b u t also Ruskin's re
cently deceased beloved, Rose L a Touche. The Reverend Faunthorpe rhapsodized t h a t
27

31
Figure 19. WILLIAM HOLMAN HUNT (British, 1 8 2 7 - 1 9 1 0 ) . May Morning on Magdalen
Tower, 1890. O i l on canvas, 157.5 x 204.5 (62.x 80 V* in.). National Museums and Galleries
c m

on Merseyside (Port Sunlight, Lady Lever A r t Gallery).

these rigidly organized and rehearsed M a y festivals " t a u g h t m a n y successive genera

tions of o u r students h o w m u c h real and keen enjoyment can be o b t a i n e d ; h o w m u c h
pleasure w i t h n o sting i n i t , can be h a d f r o m simple b u t pretty dresses, w i l d flowers,
dance a n d s o n g . " 28
H e f o u n d such ceremonies far superior t o t r a d i t i o n a l c o u n t r y fes
tivals, i n w h i c h "some evil was i n t e r m i n g l e d w i t h the g o o d , and i t is the g o o d w e w a n t
w i t h o u t the e v i l . " 2 9

A l t h o u g h A l m a Tadema o m i t t e d the M a y Queen, the six y o u n g ladies w i t h tree

32
Figure 20. The Cork Rose Queen and her attendants, circa 1885. Reproduced from C. Gere and
G. M u n n , Artists' Jewellery: Pre-Raphaelite to Arts and Crafts (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1989),
pi. 7 9 .

branches (fig. 11) i n Spring c o u l d easily be her attendantsthe t a l l girls w i t h flower

wands m e n t i o n e d by Faunthorpe. T h e i r u n b o u n d hair indicates their u n m a r r i e d status,
their simple (but alas, n o t w h i t e ) dresses are i n keeping w i t h the aesthetic robes de
signed for the W h i t e l a n d s queens, and their branches may represent the forebears o f the
Rose Queen ceremony's fussily decorated flower wands. These six y o u n g ladies seem
t o have made their appearance o n Spring's canvas after 1 8 9 4 , a s
P a r t
of A l m a Tadema's
m o r a l l y uplifted revision o f the c o m p o s i t i o n . Q u i t e possibly at the same t i m e , the artist

33
may have added the priest and his attendant c a r r y i n g sacred vessels t o " f o r e s h a d o w "
i n the F l o r a l i a the religious aspect of the W h i t e l a n d s and M a g d a l e n festivals. 30

As for the M a y Queen, A l m a Tadema h a d perforce t o exclude her f r o m his

c o m p o s i t i o n . H i s R o m a n procession heads t o w a r d the temple of F l o r a , i n w h i c h the
cult statue w o u l d have represented the goddess, so that a M a y Queen, Flora's h u m a n
stand-in and a medieval i n v e n t i o n at that, w o u l d have been redundant. N o r c o u l d the
artist have depicted Flora herself presiding over the rites i n her h o n o r , since he confined
himself t o the creation of a " r e a l " h i s t o r i c a l past rather t h a n its m y t h o l o g i c a l
counterpart.

T h e t h i r d i m p o r t a n t group of M a y celebrants i n Spring, the spectators tossing

flowers o n t o the procession, derives f r o m yet another type of M a y event k n o w n as the
Battle of the Flowers (see fig. 21). A late nineteenth-century correspondent for the Il
lustrated London News described the C o n t i n e n t a l version of the event as f o l l o w s :

Our Artist, in his representation of this merry scene at Cannes, which has been witnessed
year after year by many English visitors, including the Prince of Wales and other members
of the Royal family, shows that phase of the Carnival antics styled "The Battle of the Flow
ers," where opposing rows of open carriages meet each other for an amicable conflict, the
gentlemen and ladies in them pelting their friends with bouquets and showers of roses,
carnations, hyacinths, violets, and other floral ammunition. The fun of this pretty mimic
combat grows fast and furious with increasing excitement; whole broadsides are dis
charged at the innocent heads and bosoms of an innocent family; and it may even happen
that an explosive shell, containing a "billet-doux," is aimed at some young heart, which
w i l l be kindled to warmer emotion when the missive is opened and read. 31

U n l i k e either the c o u n t r y o r school rituals, the Battle of the Flowers h a d n o c o n n e c t i o n

w i t h the F l o r a l i a or English t r a d i t i o n , being C o n t i n e n t a l i n o r i g i n and C a t h o l i c i n o r i
e n t a t i o n . I t was an o u t g r o w t h of M a r d i Gras o r C a r n i v a l festivals preceding L e n t , fa
mously exuberant displays of sensual excess of a l l possible k i n d s . C a r n i v a l was at this
t i m e exceedingly p o p u l a r w i t h English tourists i n p u r s u i t of the sun and sin for w h i c h
the Southern climate was n o t o r i o u s . M e r c h a n t s at fashionable w a t e r i n g spots such as

34
Figure 2 1 . E [ V E R A R D ? ] H O P K I N S (British, 1 8 6 0 - 1 9 2 8 ) . The Battle of Flowers at Cannes,
1889. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 9 4 , no. 2 6 0 2 (March 2, 1889), pp. 2 7 2 - 7 3 .

Cannes, N i c e , a n d M e n t o n r a p i d l y recognized the c o m m e r c i a l benefits attendant u p o n

these attractions, a n d sponsored Battles t h r o u g h o u t the '80s and '90s. A l m a Tadema, 32

a frequent v i s i t o r t o these resorts, m i g h t conceivably have p a r t i c i p a t e d i n one of these

events. I n 1893 Q u e e n V i c t o r i a herself reviewed the " t r o o p s " before a Battle (see fig.
22), a n d shortly thereafter such events began t o occur at English resorts. Interestingly,
a " r o y a l " o r i m p e r i a l r e v i e w i n g b o x appears i n Spring (fig. 23). I n Eastbourne the pres
ence o f policemen a n d real soldiersas w e l l as r a i n a t the inaugural Battle i n 1895
ensured the g o o d behavior of t w e n t y thousand spectators (see fig. 2 4 ) . 33

Those t w e n t y thousand spectators, n o t t o m e n t i o n the seemingly numberless

p a i n t i n g s , p r i n t s , and w r i t t e n descriptions of M a y festivals, testify t o their e x t r a o r d i -

35
Figure 2 2 . T. A D V E S T I E R . The Queen at Florence: Watching the "Corso dei Fion' from
the Palazzo Riccardi, 1893. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 102, no. 2819
(April 2 9 , 1 8 9 3 ) , p. 5!7-
Figure 2 3 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail showing the "reviewing box."

n a r y p o p u l a r i t y i n the last decades of the nineteenth century. A l m a Tadema, a c o m

mercially astute painter w h o k n e w his audience and patrons w e l l , must have guessed
t h a t his R o m a n M a y festival w o u l d be enormously successful w i t h the p u b l i c . H e was
in fact able t o sell Spring t o a r i c h G e r m a n banker a full year before i t was completed,
and thousands of reproductions were sold i n the f o l l o w i n g years. 34
Yet, this p a i n t i n g is
not entirely the p r o d u c t of hardheaded c a l c u l a t i o n , for A l m a Tadema was a great, fa
mous lover of flowers, and i t seems appropriate that one of his last m a j o r paintings
should celebrate their beauty, fragility, and annual renewal. As his m o t t o suggests,

37
Figure 2 4 . H O L L A N D T R I N G H A M (British, d. 1909). The Battle of Flowers at Eastbourne,
1895. Reproduced from Illustrated London News 106, no. 2924 (May 4 , 1895), p. 535-
l i g h t , flowers, art, and life are inseparable. H i s M a y festival celebrates all four. There
fore, Spring must be considered n o t o n l y as an image of elegant upper-class r i t u a l b u t
also as an artist's statement of personal philosophy.
T h e p u b l i c display of childish female innocence w i t h i n an u r b a n setting rep
resents a m o r a l i m p o s s i b i l i t y according t o the V i c t o r i a n w o r l d view. N o d o u b t , the daz
z l i n g cleanness a n d whiteness of A l m a Tadema's cityespecially b r i l l i a n t w h e n c o m
pared w i t h filthy, f o g - b o u n d L o n d o n of the 1 8 9 0 s w o u l d have appeared equally
impossible t o most V i c t o r i a n s , thus elevating the entire subject t o the realm of a distant
ideal. I n V i c t o r i a n E n g l a n d y o u n g girls were kept o u t of p u b l i c life t o preserve their i n
nocencehere they are i n p u b l i c t o p r o c l a i m i t . T h i s is entirely i n keeping w i t h the p o
etic v i s i o n of Swinburne's " D e d i c a t i o n " :

In the fields and the turreted cities,

That cover from sunshine and rain
Fair passions and bountiful pities
And loves without stain. 35

39
 The Importance of Details

A L M A T A D E M A ' S compositions are the sums of their details. T h i s character

istic is m o s t o b v i o u s i n his treatment of architecture. A l t h o u g h Spring is c r o w d e d w i t h
arches, c o l u m n s , pediments, balconies, m o l d i n g s , railings, and the like, n o actual
b u i l d i n g can be recognized. The painting's constructions defy i d e n t i f i c a t i o n as basili
cas, temples, t r i u m p h a l arches, o r m a r k e t hallsthe p u b l i c buildings one w o u l d expect
t o find s u r r o u n d i n g such a richly decorated passageway. N o r can its g r o u n d p l a n be
m a t c h e d w i t h any R o m a n t o w n p l a n k n o w n d u r i n g the nineteenth century. A l t h o u g h
its i n t e r n a l relationships are governed by the logic of perspective, the space is purely
i m a g i n a r y , defined by richly o r n a m e n t e d screen walls t h a t m i g h t as w e l l be
freestanding. 36

A l t h o u g h A l m a Tadema's architecture was n o t founded i n the real w o r l d , i t

h a d other sources: the i l l u s i o n i s m of the c o n t e m p o r a r y theatrical stage set and the
t r o m p e l'oeil w a l l p a i n t i n g s t h a t h a d been discovered at Pompeii as early as the eigh
teenth century. A l m a Tadema h a d designed h i s t o r i c a l stage sets for i m p o r t a n t Shake
spearean p r o d u c t i o n s i n L o n d o n i n the 1880s. Distinguished by their archaeological
v e r i s i m i l i t u d e , his designs satisfied the V i c t o r i a n taste for spectacle t h a t f o u n d other
outlets i n p a n t o m i m e s , charades, and ceremonial processions, and i n the great t r a v e l i n g
p a n o r a m a s t h a t depicted exotic locales and i m p o r t a n t events. L i k e a stage set, Spring's
architecture forms a r i g i d l y three-dimensional perspective b o x w i t h numerous en
trances a n d exits and adequate spaces for p r i n c i p a l actors, secondary players, and a
chorus of extras. I n fact, i t is easy t o envision Spring as a theatrical scene o r p u b l i c pan
t o m i m e , o r even as the m o m e n t w h e n the guests descended the grand staircase t o dinner
at one o f the lavish costume balls A l m a Tadema favored. M o s t Pompeiian w a l l p a i n t
ings e m p l o y e d the same scenographic perspective as stage sets. The elaborate Pom
p e i i a n F o u r t h Style (see fig. 25) mixes real architectural forms i n t o fantastic c o m b i
nations a n d b o l d l y juxtaposes large-scale foreground details w i t h distant vignettes of

40
Figure 25. Fourth-Style fresco, Roman, Pompeii, first century A. D . 205 x 172
cm ( 8 o / x 67 V in.). Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale 9 7 3 1 .
3
4 4
h a l l u c i n a t o r y clarity. O n e finds the same m i x t u r e i n A l m a Tadema's c o m p o s i t i o n (fig.
23). Its t a l l , p a v i l i o n l i k e spaces are especially reminiscent of the Pompeiian fantasies.
T h e result is eerily c o n v i n c i n g a n d supremely decorative, i f n o t i n the least b i t real.
Details give Spring n o t only f o r m b u t also color and focus. The basic stage set
is w h i t e , a n d the actors wear pale-colored gowns, so the w h o l e w o u l d be impossibly
b l a n d w i t h o u t the a d d i t i o n of scarlet and purple flowers, y e l l o w garlands, green mala
chite, spotted marbles, acidic bronzes, and Pompeiian red w a l l s . The viewer's eye
roams f r o m one spot of color t o another, beginning w i t h the b r i l l i a n t scarlet poppies
carried i n the forefront of the procession, w h i c h call immediate a t t e n t i o n t o the flower
girls and, consequently, t o the m a y i n g theme. Colors become increasingly subtle o r
m o r e w i d e l y dispersed the farther they are f r o m front and center. I n the m i d d l e dis
tance, for example, the subdued red w a l l s of the " r o y a l b o x " also attract o u r a t t e n t i o n
b u t less insistently t h a n the poppies. Red is p i c k e d up again by a few more flowers d r o p
p i n g f r o m the upper balcony, t a k i n g the viewer's eye u p , at last, t o the unrelieved ex
panse of blue sky, t o rest before descending again t o the massed colors and forms of the
l o w e r half. I n contrast t o the t i g h t l y c o n t r o l l e d areas of local color, great walls and col
u m n s o f n e u t r a l l y colored marblesgray, rose, and tanare located i n the m i d d l e reg
ister of the p a i n t i n g , h e l p i n g t o soften the stage set's r i g i d l y schematic design. T h e y also
soften distinctions between figures and b a c k g r o u n d i n the m i d d l e distance, thus p r o
v i d i n g a f o i l for the strong contrasts between colorful flower girls and stark w h i t e mar
ble i n the f o r e g r o u n d . A l m a Tadema's d i s t r i b u t i o n of colored details across an essen
t i a l l y m o n o c h r o m a t i c p a i n t i n g tells us h o w t o l o o k at i t . A l o n g the way, one grasps the
overall subject a n d begins t o recognize the archaeological antecedents and thematic
significance o f i n d i v i d u a l items.
T h e r e m a i n i n g details consist p r i m a r i l y of encrusting o r n a m e n t a t i o n . These
p r o v i d e m o r e t h a n d e c o r a t i o n . Since many of t h e m are based o n real antiquities, they
also help t o convince us o f the a u t h e n t i c i t y of the h i s t o r i c a l setting. M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y ,
i n various ways they e x p a n d o n the painting's subject o r a d d surprising n e w levels o f
meaning to it.

Flowers constitute the m o s t obvious and i m p o r t a n t of the painting's details, as

42.
befits a celebration i n h o n o r of their presiding goddess. Equally t o the p o i n t , the artist
loved t h e m . A l m a Tadema's private garden was famous i n L o n d o n for its fine flowers;
significantly, i t c o u l d be entered t h r o u g h doors o p e n i n g off his studio. The artist even
w o r e flowers w h e n the occasion w a r r a n t e d , n o t a b l y at costume parties, w h i c h he some
times attended garbed i n a toga a n d a w r e a t h of bluebells. A l o n g w i t h Spring,
37
both
The Oleander (1882; Private collection) and The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888; France,
Private collection) are b u i l t a r o u n d flowersreal ones t h a t the artist kept i n his house
(oleander) o r i m p o r t e d at great expense f r o m a b r o a d (roses). Flowers appear as dec
orative accessories i n m o s t of A l m a Tadema's paintings. Those i n Spring may w e l l have
come f r o m his garden o r f r o m photographs collected over the years (see figs. 26-28).

H i s a d m i r a t i o n for t h e m is evident i n every m i n u t e , carefully described petal and leaf.

Poppies, daffodils, calla lilies, j o n q u i l s , forget-me-nots, h a w t h o r n e , and cherry and ap
ple blossoms as w e l l as i v y are readily identifiable.
Appearance mattered m o r e t o the artist t h a n other h o r t i c u l t u r a l issues such as
seasonality o r h i s t o r i c a l accuracy. Before the change of the English calendar i n the m i d
dle of the eighteenth century, M a y D a y fell o n w h a t is n o w M a y 9, w h e n f l o w e r i n g
plants and shrubs were b l o o m i n g i n abundance. Particular b l o o m s , especially the h a w
t h o r n e o r mayflower, were closely associated w i t h the theme of springtime and, i n Eng
l a n d , w i t h M a y festivals. Chambers's Book of Days mentions t h a t " f l o w e r i n g boughs"
as w e l l as flowers figured i n the r u r a l English ceremonies. W h e n the h o l i d a y began t o
be celebrated eight days earlier, however, very few buds h a d opened, and some cere
monies, such as those at W h i t e l a n d s , h a d t o make do w i t h evergreens. 38
Seasonal ac
curacy therefore does n o t e x p l a i n the p r o l i f e r a t i o n of floral varieties i n Spring. Histor
ical precedent cannot justify i t either, since the varieties strewn by the ancient
R o m a n s v e t c h , l u p i n , a n d beansare absent. W h a t the gathering of seasonally i m
possible c o m b i n a t i o n s does reflect is V i c t o r i a n tastes for hothouse gardening and
importations. 39

T h e artist may have selected certain flowers for their b r i l l i a n t colors o r sym
b o l i s m rather t h a n f o r their appropriateness t o the season. I n t r a d i t i o n a l iconographies
of flowers, s u m m e r - b l o s s o m i n g poppies are l i n k e d w i t h o b l i v i o n , w h i l e forget-me-nots

43
Figure 2 6 . Unknown photographer. Plum
Blossom, late nineteenth century. Birming
ham University Library, Alma Tadema Col
lection 9 3 4 3 - 1 9 1 5 .

Figure 27. FREDERICK HOLLYER. Calla

Lilies, late nineteenth century. Birmingham
University Library, Alma Tadema Collection
9283-1915.

Figure 2 8 . Unknown photographer. Apple

Blossom, late nineteenth century. Birming
ham University Library, Alma Tadema Col
lection 9 3 1 9 - 1 9 1 5 .
Figure 2 9 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of lower left edge.
(and i v y ) suggest remembrance, a l l suitable t o the themes of Swinburne's " D e d i c a
tion." 4 0
I n the elaborate s y m b o l i c language of flowers w h i c h the V i c t o r i a n s developed
i n t o a h i g h art, daffodils and j o n q u i l s represented declarations of l o v e . T h e i r s y m b o l i c
41

message w o u l d have been appropriate for b o t h the c o n t e m p o r a r y C o n t i n e n t a l Battle

of the Flowers a n d the ancient Floralia. I t is possible b u t n o t certain t h a t A l m a Tadema
k n e w their significance and i n c l u d e d t h e m i n Spring t o suggest some of M a y Day's a m
orous pleasures. (As w e shall see, this is certainly the case w i t h other details i n the p a i n t
ing.) U n f o r t u n a t e l y , attempts t o find suitable symbolic interpretations for a l l of the
flowers i n c l u d e d i n the c o m p o s i t i o n are d o o m e d t o failure. The h a w t h o r n e , f o r ex
ample, represents hope, a n d the lily, p u r i t y 4 2
A few specimens, such as the calla lilies i n
the h a i r of a spectator at the far left (fig. 29), seem t o have n o f u n c t i o n b e y o n d o r n a
m e n t a t i o n . Lilies h a d come i n t o vogue i n L o n d o n d u r i n g the height of the Aesthetic
M o v e m e n t i n the 1870s and early '80sas h a d the red hair of the w o m a n w h o wears
t h e m i n Spring. T h e i r m a i n purpose w i t h i n the context of the p a i n t i n g w o u l d therefore
have been t o suggest "fashionable artistic beauty" t o a V i c t o r i a n audience.

Flowers play a p r i m a r i l y aesthetic role i n Spring. Beautiful themselves, they

beautify the p a i n t i n g , c o l o r i n g n o t only life b u t also art. They are unreliable symbols
o r h i s t o r i c a l signposts, these being their secondary functions. A l m o s t the opposite is
true f o r the m a j o r i t y of Spring's other details. M a n y are relatively undistinguished o b
jects whose appearance A l m a Tadema felt n o o b l i g a t i o n t o reproduce exactly. O r he
placed identifiable famous objects i n bizarre contexts. These details serve p r i m a r i l y t o
develop further themes related t o the M a y festival: its h i s t o r i c a l t r a d i t i o n , its musical-
ity, a n d its character as a f e r t i l i t y rite.
Sculpture a n d architectural ornaments locate A l m a Tadema's festival i n an
cient R o m e . I f he h a d left his g l e a m i n g marble walls and columns bare, i t w o u l d be dif
ficult t o determine w h e t h e r the b u i l d i n g s , shiny and new, h a d been constructed i n the
first century A . D . o r the nineteenth. These elements m i g h t easily have belonged t o the
entrance h a l l o f an i m p o s i n g L o n d o n house (such as A l m a Tadema's o w n residence) o r
the facade o f an i m p e r i a l b a n k o r government office. Fortunately, A l m a Tadema sup
p l i e d concrete i n f o r m a t i o n o n the spandrel and architrave of the archway at center left

46
(fig. 3 0 ) . T h e arch carries b o t h an i n s c r i p t i o n and a relief. A l t h o u g h p a r t i a l l y obscured,
the i n s c r i p t i o n is identifiable. I t is taken f r o m the dedication of the A r c h of Trajan i n
Benevento. T h i s famous ancient m o n u m e n t , located about 130 miles southeast of
R o m e , was v o t e d by the Senate i n A . D . 114 t o c o m m e m o r a t e the opening of the A p p i a n
Way. I t was n o t c o m p l e t e d u n t i l the reign of Trajan's successor, the emperor H a d r i a n
(r. 1 1 7 - 1 3 8 ) . A l m a Tadema may have copied the t e x t f r o m a p h o t o g r a p h of the arch
w h i c h he k e p t i n his extensive c o l l e c t i o n of images of antique architecture and art (fig.
31). A t least one of Spring's 1895 critics n o t i c e d this clue, correctly stating t h a t the set
t i n g is H a d r i a n ' s R o m e . 43

A l m a Tadema d i d n o t choose H a d r i a n at r a n d o m . H e was the only R o m a n em

peror t o visit B r i t a i n ( i n A . D . 122), and he left at least one m o n u m e n t , the enormous
w a l l d i v i d i n g R o m a n B r i t a i n f r o m the n o r t h e r n tribes i n w h a t is n o w Scotland. A l m a
Tadema h a d c o m m e m o r a t e d this visit i n another p a i n t i n g , Hadrian in England: Vis
iting a Roman-British Pottery (1884) 4 4
T h e emperor was famous as an amateur ar
chitect and p a t r o n o f the arts as w e l l as for his extensive travels a r o u n d the R o m a n E m
pire, c o n s o l i d a t i n g the conquests and annexations of his predecessors and pacifying his
subjects. A l m a Tadema may have believed t h a t Hadrian's reign was the logical t i m e for
B r i t a i n t o have accepted aspects of R o m a n culture, i n c l u d i n g Floralia celebrations.
T h e spandrel relief directly b e l o w the dedicatory i n s c r i p t i o n also supplies i n
f o r m a t i o n a b o u t the date of Spring's festival. I n actual R o m a n arches, the spandrel usu
ally bore one figure, oftenas herea river g o d h o l d i n g a vase spilling water. A l m a
Tadema seems t o have depended o n a p h o t o g r a p h of the A r c h of Constantine (fig. 3 2)
for his river g o d . Usually dated A . D . 312/315, m u c h later t h a n Trajan's A r c h , the A r c h
of Constantine postdates H a d r i a n . A n d , a l t h o u g h i t incorporates relief fragments f r o m
a H a d r i a n i c arch, the river g o d is n o t a m o n g t h e m 4 5

By m a r r y i n g architectural fragments separated by t w o h u n d r e d years, A l m a

Tadema seems t o have c o m m i t t e d a serious anachronism. H e c o m p o u n d e d his crime
by i n s e r t i n g f a r m animals i n t o the spandrel space n o r m a l l y reserved for gods and al
legorical figures. H o w e v e r , the sheep and c o w can be u n d e r s t o o d as heavenly beings of
a sort, since they represented the m o n t h s of A p r i l (Ares) and M a y (Taurus) i n the R o -

47
Figure 3 0 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of architecture at upper left.
Figure 3 1 . Unknown photographer. The Figure 3 2. Unknown photographer. Detail
Arch of Trajan, Benevento, late nineteenth of the Arch of Constantine, late nineteenth
century. Birmingham University Library, century. Birmingham University Library,
Alma Tadema Collection 8 0 3 9 - 1 9 1 5 . Alma Tadema Collection 8 0 5 2 - 1 9 1 5 .

m a n zodiacal calendar. A calendar stone e x h i b i t e d at the archaeological m u s e u m i n

Naples i n the nineteenth century used reliefs of a sheep a n d c o w t o m a r k these t w o
m o n t h s (fig. 3 3 ) . 4 6
Interestingly enough, this calendar gives the tutelary deities o f
eachVenus f o r A p r i l a n d A p o l l o for M a y r e m i n d i n g us once again of Spring's
themes of love a n d music. M o r e o v e r , the calendar lists the p r i n c i p a l M a y festivals as
" s a c r u m m e r c u r et florae" (sacred t o M e r c u r y and Flora). Since the Floralia actually
began i n A p r i l a n d ended i n M a y , A l m a Tadema was justified i n i n c l u d i n g the zodiac
symbols f o r b o t h i n Spring. H e may have h o p e d to eliminate possible confusion w i t h
the Cerealia, w h i c h o c c u r r e d i n A p r i l , o r the A m b a r v a l i a , celebrated later i n M a y .
T h e r e m a i n i n g details i d e n t i f y i n g t i m e and place i n the p a i n t i n g suffered i m -

49
Figure 3 3 . F E R D I N A N D O M O R I (Italian, b. circa 1775). A Roman Calendar Stone, circa 1836.
Etching, 13.3 x 22.9 cm (5 % x 9 in.). Reproduced from A Guide in the National Museum of Na
ples and Its Principal Monuments Illustrated (Naples, [circa 1836]), pi. 26.

provements t o satisfy the artist's narrative requirements. Take, for example, the m a r b l e
relief of a g a r l a n d of flowers and f r u i t located just b e l o w the " r o y a l b o x " (fig. 2 3 ) . As
w i t h the details f r o m the arches of Constantine and Trajan, this relief is based o n a p h o
t o g r a p h i n A l m a Tadema's c o l l e c t i o n (fig. 34), w h i c h reveals t h a t the o r i g i n a l existed
i n r u i n o u s c o n d i t i o n , m o r e t h a n h a l f lost. Despite this, i t also is the R o m a n p r o t o t y p e
for the garlands slung between columns o n the left of the picture and carried o n stan
dards i n the center. T h e o r i g i n a l relief was never intended t o decorate a b u i l d i n g , since
i t o r i g i n a l l y f o r m e d one side of a sarcophagus. 47
A l s o d i s t u r b i n g are the t r a n s f o r m a
tions the artist w r o u g h t u p o n the t w o bronze equestrian sculptures visible t h r o u g h
"Trajan's" archway. (The m o r e distant of the t w o is almost immersed i n the sea of spec-

50
 Figure 34. Unknown photographer. Roman
Marble Relief Fragment, late nineteenth cen
tury. Birmingham University Library, Alma
Tadema Collection 11825-1915.

tators' heads. ) T h e antique p r o t o t y p e s , excavated at H e r c u l a n e u m i n the eighteenth

century, were a m o n g the m o s t famous of R o m a n equestrian statues. T h e y p o r t r a y e d
t w o o f the town's leading citizens, M a r c u s N o n i u s Balbus and his son of the same
name. 48
A l m a Tadema, w h o kept a d r a w i n g of each i n his c o l l e c t i o n , 49
must have seen
the originals d u r i n g visits t o Naples, Pompeii, and H e r c u l a n e u m . So he w o u l d have
k n o w n t h a t the originals are of m a r b l e , n o t bronze, and t h a t one, like the sarcophagus,
survived i n very p o o r c o n d i t i o n . I f they have any narrative f u n c t i o n at all, these statues
help t o identify the vista i n Spring as an i m p o r t a n t p u b l i c space. Since marbles w o u l d
have fulfilled this f u n c t i o n just as effectively, A l m a Tadema may have t r a n s m u t e d his
models i n t o bronze for aesthetic reasons, so t h a t they w o u l d stand o u t clearly against
the m a r b l e columns a n d facades.
A t this p o i n t i t is w o r t h pausing t o consider the havoc A l m a Tadema created
w i t h art a n d h i s t o r y i n these four details alone. For a l l his archaeological k n o w l e d g e ,
he showed l i t t l e respect for archaeological t r u t h s . H i s attitude t o w a r d a n t i q u i t y is i l
l u m i n a t e d by his treatment of his p h o t o g r a p h collection. H i s hundreds of photographs
of antiquities are meticulously sorted and indexed according t o subject; p o r t f o l i o s are
devoted t o " p o r t r a i t s , m e n " o r " t r i u m p h a l arches" o r " R o m a n a n i m a l s c u l p t u r e . " 50

T h i s m e t h o d of o r g a n i z a t i o n , w h i c h clearly grew o u t of the painter's artistic process,

51
Figure 35. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail showing flute player
in lower right corner.
Figure 3 6. Unknown photographer. Roman
Statue, Terminal Figure, late nineteenth cen
tury. Birmingham University Library, Alma
Tadema Collection 11754-1915.
Figure 3 7 . J O H N REINHARD WEGUELIN
(British, 18491927). "Heard Melodies Are
Sweet; But Those Unheard Are Sweeter"
circa 1892. Oil on canvas. Reproduced from
Illustrated London News 100, suppl. (May
7 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 8.

enabled h i m t o locate appropriate m o t i f s as needed. Since few of the photographs are

i n d i v i d u a l l y identified, however, i t also made egregious anachronisms possible, such as
c o m b i n i n g objects made hundreds of yearsand m i l e s a p a r t o r using t h e m i n con
texts u n i m a g i n e d i n ancient R o m e . H o w e v e r , these "mistakes" resulted n o t f r o m i g
norance, f o r A l m a Tadema was indeed learned, b u t rather f r o m choice. H i s artistic
needs far o u t w e i g h e d archaeological considerations, unless, of course, the archaeolog-

53
ical facts i n some w a y c o n t r i b u t e d t o his w o r k . I n fact, his transformations of a n t i q u i t y
are themselves artistic actsthe creation of recognizable yet u n f a m i l i a r new objects,
n e w b e a u t i e s f r o m the f a m i l i a r w o r k s of the past. A l m a Tadema m a n i p u l a t e d a n t i q
u i t y just as he m a n i p u l a t e d color, space, and f o r m , i n order t o create distinctive, m o d
ern w o r k s o f art. T h e game of i d e n t i f y i n g his antique sources and n o t i n g their trans
f o r m a t i o n s is therefore n o t simply a h u n t for errors b u t the proper approach t o
a p p r e c i a t i n g A l m a Tadema's artistic taste and cleverness.
H i s talents are fully displayed i n the details of Spring t h a t p e r t a i n t o music, like
flowers one of the great loves of his life. H i s weekly "at homes" for friends and patrons
were famous for the q u a l i t y of the musical entertainment, p r o v i d e d by some of L o n
don's finest musicians. I n Spring the musical theme crops up i n some surprising places,
b e g i n n i n g w i t h Swinburne's reference t o " m u s i c a l flowers" o n the frame. T h e poet's u n
usual c o m b i n a t i o n o f ideas reminds us t h a t silent objects can possess musical qualities.
By scattering musical details across his c o m p o s i t i o n , A l m a Tadema called a t t e n t i o n t o
the r h y t h m i c sway a n d pace of the marchers, the color harmonies of the flowers, and
the subtle tones of m a r b l e and bronze.
T h e m o s t p r o m i n e n t musical details are the music makers themselves. T h e
y o u n g female flute player leading the procession (fig. 35) seems t o have been inspired
by a R o m a n t e r m i n a l figure of a bearded male flute player (fig. 3 6) of w h i c h A l m a Tad
ema k e p t a p h o t o g r a p h filed i n his collection under "statues, m a l e . " The R o m a n figure
51

already h a d made an appearance i n a p a i n t i n g by A l m a Tadema's colleague and i m i

t a t o r J o h n R e i n h a r d W e g u e l i n e n t i t l e d "Heard Melodies Are Sweet; But Those Un
heard Are Sweeter" (fig. 37), e x h i b i t e d at the N e w Gallery, L o n d o n , i n 1 8 9 2 . 52
The
statue is featured there along w i t h a nude female and a flowering bush. T h e sentiment
expressed by Weguelin's t i t l e is altogether appropriate t o a p a i n t i n g whose music m u s t
be silent, a n d A l m a Tadema seems t o have b o r r o w e d i t unashamedly, a l t h o u g h he dis
guised the statue as a h u m a n female i n Spring. H e saved himself the necessity of i n
v e n t i n g legs by h a v i n g the l o w e r edge of the canvas cut her figure off at m i d t h i g h .

T h e n e x t p r o m i n e n t musical figure i n Spring's procession is the y o u n g pipe

player i n the m i d s t o f the flower girls (fig. 38). H i s pose seems loosely modeled after a

54
Figure 3 8 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of panpipe player at bottom left.
Figure 3 9 . Unknown photographer. Faun, Fresco Painting, Pompeii, late nineteenth century.
Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 11448-1915.
Figure 4 0 . Sistrums and cymbals found in
the Temple of Isis, Pompeii, Roman, circa
A . D . 7 9 . Naples, Museo Archeologico Na-
zionale. Reproduced from M . Grant, The
Art and Life of Pompeii and Herculaneum
(New York, 1979), p. 7 6 .

Figure 4 1 . Bronze wind instrument, Ro

man, circa A . D . 7 9 . Reproduced from Grant
i 9 7 9 P. 77-
?
Figure 4 2 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail showing priest and tambourine player
near center.
Pompeiian fresco i n the M u s e o A r c h e o l o g i c o N a t i o n a l e , Naples (fig. 3 9 ) . 53
Some o f the
Pompeiian satyr's enigmatic q u a l i t y remains i n A l m a Tadema's figure, the last s u r v i v o r
of the adolescent males i n c l u d e d i n the first version of his c o m p o s i t i o n . T h e y o u n g m a n
does n o t play the simple reed panpipes associated w i t h shepherds and satyrs, however.
H i s bronze i n s t r u m e n t is o r n a m e n t e d w i t h a relief representing three shrines. A l m a
Tadema copied this relief f r o m a fragment also i n Naples (fig. 4 0 ) . H i s reconstructed
i n s t r u m e n t resembles one f o u n d at Pompeii a n d apparently used for religious cere
monies (fig. 4 1 ) . N o t e t h a t he reversed the o r n a m e n t a l b a n d ; i f he h a d copied the i n
s t r u m e n t exactly, the relief w o u l d appear upside d o w n i n his p a i n t i n g . 54

D i r e c t l y b e h i n d the pipe player, three y o u n g w o m e n (boys i n the o r i g i n a l c o m

p o s i t i o n ) play t a m b o u r i n e s . One holds her i n s t r u m e n t up beside her r i g h t ear (fig. 4 2 ) ,
m i r r o r i n g the carved t a m b o u r i n e - p l a y i n g maenad decorating a pilaster capital f r o m
the H o u s e o f the Figured Capitals i n Pompeii (fig. 43 ) . 55
A l m a Tadema reproduced this
face of the capital itself i n the upper r i g h t corner of his p a i n t i n g , as usual w i t h i m p r o v e
ments (fig. 4 5 ) . Its o r i g i n a l crude m a t e r i a l , p r o b a b l y tufa, has been translated i n t o fine
m a r b l e , a n d the b l o c k y c a r v i n g of the o r i g i n a l (once covered w i t h stucco) appears crisp-
er a n d m o r e refined i n the p a i n t i n g . A l m a Tadema also reproduced the capital's other
f a c e s h o w i n g a satyr w i t h panpipes (fig. 4 4 ) t h u s s p l i t t i n g the o r i g i n a l capital bear
i n g t w o images i n t o t w o capitals w i t h one image eachstretching his resources, so t o
speak. T h e satyr w i t h panpipes recalls the shepherd i n A l m a Tadema's procession (fig.
38). T h e d e c o r a t i o n of the t a m b o u r i n e s comes f r o m yet another source, again a Pom
peiian fresco. T h i s t i m e A l m a Tadema adapted a panel f r o m the w a l l decoration of the
then recently excavated House o f the V e t i i (fig. 4 6 ) , loosening the embrace of the satyr
a n d maenad so they fit the c i r c u l a r field. H e i n t r o d u c e d a spray of apple or cherry blos
56

som t o conveniently cover the u n d r a p e d p o r t i o n of the male figure.

I f Spring's musical details are for the most p a r t s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d , its erotic ele
ments are disguised, h i d d e n , and obscure. They c o u l d easily be passed over, as they
were by one m i s g u i d e d critic w h o w r o t e t h a t A l m a Tadema " i m p r o v e d o n the de
m e a n o r of the populace: his actors i n the scene presenting none of the licentious re
joicings t h a t accompanied the festival celebrations i n h o n o u r of the Goddess of the

59
Figure 4 3. Unknown photographer. Capital
of Pilaster, Pompeii, late nineteenth century.
Birmingham University Library, Alma Tad
ema Collection 8175-1915.
Figure 4 4 . Unknown photographer. Capital
of Pilaster, Pompeii (Oblique View), late
nineteenth century. Birmingham University
Library, Alma Tadema Collection 8 1 7 4 -
1915.

Blossoms. . . . There is here n o h i n t of the 'excessive m e r r i m e n t , d r i n k i n g , and lasciv

ious games;' a l l is perfectly respectable." 57
The perceptive F. G . Stephens n o t e d t h a t the
m a t e r i a l was there " f o r those w h o care for such things," a l t h o u g h clearly he d i d n o t . 58

T h e satyrs a n d maenads w h o crop u p i n Spring as m i n o r details already have

been n o t e d . These m y t h o l o g i c a l creatures were believed t o i n h a b i t hills and w o o d e d
areas. Satyrs, p a r t h u m a n a n d p a r t goat, followers of the great g o d Pan, lived i n a state
of constant sexual readiness. T h e i r sly assaults o n various humans and goddesses con
s t i t u t e d their p r i n c i p a l c l a i m t o fame i n the annals of classical m y t h o l o g y . M a e n a d s re
sembled h u m a n females b u t lived i n the w i l d , i n packs, protected by Bacchus, the g o d
of w i n e . W h e n overcome by frenzy, they w o u l d tear apart any h u m a n male u n f o r t u n a t e

60
Figure 4 5 . LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of architecture at upper right.
Figure 4 6 . Unknown photographer. Wall
Painting, Pompeii, late nineteenth century.
Birmingham University Library, Alma Tad
ema Collection 114621915.

enough t o cross their p a t h . Satyrs a n d maenads together frequently p a r t i c i p a t e d i n var

ious bacchic rites, representing the state of physical and e m o t i o n a l abandon sought by
the h u m a n celebrants. B o t h creatures represent the sexual dangers (or o p p o r t u n i t i e s ,
depending o n one's p o i n t of v i e w ) l u r k i n g i n the w o o d s , presumably a w a i t i n g M a y cel
ebrants i n n o c e n t l y gathering flowers. A l o n g w i t h the satyrs a n d maenads depicted o n
the m u s i c a l capitals a n d t a m b o u r i n e , A l m a Tadema p a i n t e d others c a v o r t i n g o n the
t w o roundels a t o p the left-hand processional standard (fig. 30). As usual, these figures
were t a k e n f r o m Pompeiian w a l l frescoes, again i n the Naples museum. Satyrs also ap
pear o n the bronze relief directly b e l o w the " r o y a l b o x " (fig. 23). These are based o n
one of A l m a Tadema's p h o t o g r a p h s of a R o m a n o r i g i n a l , w h i c h he transposed f r o m
m a r b l e i n t o bronze (fig. 4 7 ) .

Silver sculptures of satyrs are actually borne i n the Spring parade itself (figs.

62
Figure 4 7 . Unknown photographer. Relief, Satyrs at a Fountain, late nineteenth century. Bir
mingham University Library, Alma Tadema Collection 11821-1915.

9 , 4 8 ) . T h e y appear o n each side of the central t a m b o u r i n e player, immediately i n f r o n t

of the t w o standard bearers as the procession rounds the corner. Each satyr carries a
basket o f f r u i t and has an i n f a n t Bacchus r i d i n g o n his shoulder. L i k e the figure of the
flute player, these satyrs are based o n R o m a n t e r m i n a l sculptures available t o the artist
i n b o t h full-length a n d detail photographs (figs. 4 9 , 50). Once more he cleverly evaded
the necessity of i n v e n t i n g feet and refined relatively crude materials and w o r k m a n s h i p .
T h u s , w h a t m u s t once have been garden decorations were t i d i e d up for n e w roles i n a
sophisticated u r b a n r i t u a l .
Finally, one satyr has infiltrated the parade. H e is, of course, the sole r e m a i n i n g
male m u s i c i a n a satyr i n shepherd's c l o t h i n g . H i s l o n g nose, mysterious eyes, and h a i r
swept up above his ears like little horns betray his origins, as do his panpipes (fig. 38).
T h e maidens s u r r o u n d i n g h i m seem unaware of his presence; satyrs are rarely n o t i c e d

63
figure 48. LAWRENCE A L M A TADEMA. Spring, detail showing silver statue near center.
Figure 4 9 . Unknown photographer. Statue,
Satyr and Infant Bacchus Looking Left, late
nineteenth century. Birmingham University
Library, Alma Tadema Collection 9 6 0 5 -
1915.
Figure 5 0 . Unknown photographer. Statue,
Satyr and Infant Bacchus Looking Right
(Close Up), late nineteenth century. Bir
mingham University Library, Alma Tadema
Collection 9 6 0 6 - 1 9 1 5 .

u n t i l i t is almost t o o late.
T h e presence of satyrs usually indicates t h a t innocence is threatened i f n o t al
ready lost. I n p a i n t i n g , the theme of naked y o u n g w o m e n resisting o r fleeing amorous
satyrs enjoyed a venerable t r a d i t i o n . I f the silver statues i n Spring represent the g o d Pan
(as the critic F. G . Stephens b e l i e v e d ) rather t h a n simply t w o satyrs, then one of m y
59

thology's p r i n c i p a l offenders is featured there. I n nineteenth-century E n g l a n d this sub

ject sometimes received m o r e realistic b u t nevertheless suggestive treatment. T h u s , one
finds a w h o l e genre o f " g i r l - a n d - g o a t " paintings, such as M . Bernard's Springtime (fig.
51), w i t h its suspiciously friendly b i l l y goat. Perhaps the subtlest example of the genre

65
Figure 5 1 . M . B E R N A R D . Springtime, circa
1890. Reproduced from Illustrated London
News 9 6 , no. 2 6 5 0 (April 5, 1890), p. 4 3 2 .
Figure 5 2 . J A M E S T I S S O T (French, 1 8 3 6 -
1902). The Gardener, circa 1 8 7 9 . O i l on
canvas. Reproduced from J . Laver, "Vulgar
Society": The Romantic Career of James Tis
sot 18361902 (London, 1 9 3 6 ) , pi. 2 2 .

is James Tissot's Gardener (fig. 5 2), i n w h i c h an u r b a n garden has replaced the w o o d s ,

a n d Pan is represented by a m a r b l e sculpture. A gardener kneels before h i m as if i n w o r
ship, w h i l e a handsome, well-dressed w o m a n (in fact the artist's mistress) and a y o u n g
g i r l l o o k o n . T h e atmosphere of sexual tension anticipates D . H . Lawrence's Lady
Chatterley's Lover ( 1 9 2 8 ) . Satyr w o r s h i p appears i n modest f o r m i n the w o r k of J. R.
W e g u e l i n , w h o once again a n t i c i p a t e d A l m a Tadema's use of a R o m a n sculpture i n The
Toilet ofFaunus, or Adoring the Herm (fig. 5 3). I n fact, Weguelin copied his satyr f r o m

66
 Figure 53. J O H N REINHARD WEGUELIN.
The Toilet ofFaunus, or Adoring the Herm,
1887. O i l on canvas, 1 0 1 . 6 x 5 8 . 4 cm
(40 x 23 in.). Philadelphia, Private collection.

the same R o m a n t e r m i n a l figure A l m a Tadema used as the basis for his silver statues i n
Spring (figs. 4 9 , 50). O n the C o n t i n e n t this theme inspired numerous suggestive i m
ages, c u l m i n a t i n g i n the erotic nightmares o f Felicien Rops.
A l t h o u g h i n general Spring seems t o fall squarely i n t o the "suggestive" cate
gory, A l m a Tadema snuck an actual rape scene i n t o his picture. The relief o r n a m e n t i n g
the b u i l d i n g at the far left represents the battle of the Lapiths against the centaurs, an
epic m y t h i c a l c o n f r o n t a t i o n t h a t occurred at a w e d d i n g feast (fig. 30). The L a p i t h s , a

67
Figure 54a. The Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs. Segment of frieze from the Temple of
Apollo at Bassae, Greek, end fifth century B.C. Marble, H : 64.2 cm ( 2 5 % in.). Courtesy of the
Trustees of the British Museum.

race o f giants, are s h o w n s t r u g g l i n g t o wrest their w o m e n f r o m the arms o f d r u n k e n

centaurs. A l m a Tadema seems n o t t o have o w n e d photographs of the m a r b l e o r i g i n a l s ,
w h i c h decorated the i n t e r i o r of the Temple of A p o l l o at Bassae i n Greece, c o m p l e t e d
a b o u t 4 0 0 B . C . (fig. 54a, b ) . H o w e v e r , he c o u l d have seen the marbles themselves i n the
B r i t i s h M u s e u m a n o t h e r favorite source of antique images for his p a i n t i n g s . 60

Satyrs, maenads, Bacchus, a n d d r u n k e n centaurs certainly subvert the V i c t o

r i a n primness of A l m a Tadema's M a y festival. N e i t h e r satyrs p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n a cele
b r a t i o n o f floral beauty a n d female p u r i t y n o r bacchic decorations seem especially ap
p r o p r i a t e t o the o c c a s i o n o r are they? T h e answer t o this question lies i n the
i n s c r i p t i o n o n the standard at the center of the c o m p o s i t i o n (fig. 55). Its p o s i t i o n tells
us t h a t i t is i m p o r t a n t ; its o b s c u r i t y suggests t h a t i t is highly i m p r o p e r . T h e t w o lines
of L a t i n t e x t read: " H u n c l u c u m t i b i dedico consecroque, P r i a p e , / q u a d o m u s t u a
L a m p s a c i est q u a q u e . . . Priape" ( I dedicate, I consecrate this grove t o thee, / Priapus,
whose h o m e a n d w o o d l a n d s are at Lampsacus). 61
T h e procession i n Spring celebrates

68
 Figure 5 4 b . The Battle of the
Lapiths and the Centaurs. Seg
ment of frieze from the Temple
of Apollo at Bassae, Greek, end
fifth century B.C. Marble, H :
64.2 cm (25 V in.). Courtesy of
4

the Trustees of the British

Museum.

Priapus, the i t h y p h a l l i c g o d of nature, gardens, and fertility. I n ancient R o m e , shrines

a n d altars t o Priapus o r n a m e n t e d gardens and w o o d s ; offerings of f o o d , w i n e , and gar
lands o f flowers ensured his c o n t i n u i n g beneficence. Such a shrine, c o n t a i n i n g a t i n y
statue, is depicted i n the r o u n d e l h a n g i n g directly b e l o w the L a t i n i n s c r i p t i o n i n Spring.
J u d g i n g f r o m his frequent appearance i n frescoes and sculpture at Pompeii, Priapus
was one o f the m o r e c o m m o n l y p o r t r a y e d deities i n R o m a n times. I n the p r u d i s h nine
teenth century, however, he was almost invisible, and his presence, however subtle, i n
Spring transforms the p a i n t i n g f r o m a solemn scene i n t o a racy joke. Even the character
of F l o r a , the goddess of the day, changes i n association w i t h Priapus. Goddess of f l o w
ers, she was also the n o t o r i o u s patroness of prostitutes, w h o were a m o n g the p r i n c i p a l
celebrants o f the F l o r a l i a . T h u s , even the apparent innocence of Spring's
62
parading
beauties is called i n t o question. O f course, this was a joke n o t everyone w o u l d have
perceived o r u n d e r s t o o d . For the casual visitor t o the R o y a l A c a d e m y i n 1895, the
painting's bacchic elements a n d nearly illegible i n s c r i p t i o n c o u l d easily have been i g -

69
Figure 55. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of standard with inscription.
n o r e d as mere " p e r i o d details." Consequently, the p a i n t i n g was less likely t o be con
demned by reviewersor, even worse, rejected by the hanging committeebecause of
its subject.
D e d i c a t i n g a parade of schoolgirls t o Priapus exemplifies A l m a Tadema's sense
of h u m o r s c h o o l b o y i s h , earthy, and u n c o m p l i c a t e d . (One of his friends believed that,
h a d he lived longer, he w o u l d have " a d o r e d D o n a l d D u c k . " ) Yet, A l m a Tadema's joke
6 3

leads t o deeper reflections. I n his capacity as garden deity, Priapus does belong at a fes
t i v a l celebrating flowers. H i s presence reminds us of the true purpose of the Floralia: t o
w e l c o m e the a n n u a l renewal of nature's fertility. H i s esoteric disguise points up the h o l
l o w , even " d e n a t u r e d " character of the V i c t o r i a n rites, w h i c h substituted artifice and
hypocrisy for the R o m a n s ' frank appreciation of the facts of life.
The verses t o Priapus come f r o m a fragment of a p o e m by the great A u g u s t a n
satirist C a t u l l u s . L i k e S w i n b u r n e , the a u t h o r of the verses o n Spring's frame, Catullus
w r o t e erotic poetry. I n the V i c t o r i a n era b o t h poets enjoyed scandalous reputations
thanks t o the nature of their w o r k and the flamboyance of their semiprivate lives
( t h o u g h by the 1890s Swinburne's r e p u t a t i o n h a d cooled after many years of enforced
v i r t u e i n l a b o r i o u s seclusion). B o t h were great favorites of A l m a Tadema, w h o w e n t t o
considerable lengths t o i n c o r p o r a t e their w o r d s i n t o his c o m p o s i t i o n .
A t first glance so convincingly real, so archaeologically exact, so beautiful and
innocent, Spring turns o u t o n closer e x a m i n a t i o n t o be illusionary, historically con
fused, and mischievously i m m o r a l . I t w o u l d be easy at this p o i n t t o condemn A l m a Tad
ema for sloppiness o r hypocrisy o r b o t h , and a great many m o d e r n critics, b e g i n n i n g
w i t h Roger F r y i n 1913, have done just t h a t . 64
They have i g n o r e d o r refused t o ac
ceptthe fact t h a t A l m a Tadema deliberately sought t o have i t b o t h ways, t h a t his con
fusion o f past and present, his double entendres and double standards, his alterations
of reality, are consistent w i t h his v i s i o n of his art. T h a t these purposes were rejected i n
the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y t h a t o u r standards may differ f r o m the artist'sdoes n o t make
t h e m any less w o r t h y o f e x p l o r a t i o n . B u t i f we assume t h a t he wished t o do more t h a n
p a i n t a p r e t t y a n d salable p i c t u r e , w h a t was the purpose of Spring}

71
 Art and Empire

A L M A T A D E M A , w h o d i d n o t discuss his art frequently, never explained his

reasons f o r p a i n t i n g Spring. Journalists f o u n d his rare pronouncements o n art, nature,
beauty, a n d goodness (delivered i n a heavy D u t c h accent) less t h a n i l l u m i n a t i n g , 65
and
their o p i n i o n is justified by the very confusing i n t r o d u c t i o n he w r o t e t o his brief essay
" A r t a n d Its R e l a t i o n t o I n d u s t r y " i n 1893 6 6
H i s friends a n d critics agreed t h a t the
painter was n o philosopher. Nevertheless, his ideas o n aesthetics and morals do offer
insights i n t o his p a i n t i n g s . A l m a Tadema treated art, nature, beauty, and goodness as
exalted, eternal ideals t h a t existed independently of h i s t o r y or culture, being c o m m o n
t o a l l h u m a n k i n d . T h o u g h he believed t h a t the role of the artist was t o present art a n d
nature t o the p u b l i c i n terms o f its o w n t i m e , he distanced himself f r o m the Realists such
as C o u r b e t , w h o h a d abandoned i d e a l i s m . The public's c o n t e m p l a t i o n of art a n d na
67

ture i n their purest f o r m s w o u l d , A l m a Tadema felt, lead t o a finer understanding of the

abstract ideals of beauty a n d goodness.

For A l m a Tadema, art fulfilled its m o r a l purpose by v i r t u e of its beauty rather

t h a n its subject matter, w h i c h he felt t o be of secondary i m p o r t a n c e . I n one of the m o s t
interesting statements he made t o j o u r n a l i s t H e l e n Z i m m e r n , he said, " O n e of the
greatest difficulties i n A r t is t o find a subject t h a t is really p i c t o r i a l , plastic. . . . O f
course the subject is an interesting p o i n t i n a picture, b u t the subject is merely the pre
t e x t under w h i c h the p i c t u r e is made, therefore i t is w r o n g t o judge the picture accord
i n g t o the s u b j e c t . " 68
I n l i g h t of his elaborate treatment of the subject of Spring, i t seems
incredible t h a t A l m a Tadema c o u l d have described subject matter i n these terms. Yet,
this apparent inconsistency can be resolved. W h e n denouncing the p r i m a c y of subject
matter, A l m a Tadema h a d i n m i n d paintings of obscure historical events meaningless
t o the unenlightened spectator. I n his o p i n i o n these were failures; the spectator s h o u l d
be able t o understand a p a i n t i n g w i t h o u t the assistance of l o n g e x p l a n a t o r y labels o r
titles. T h i s is certainly t r u e of most of A l m a Tadema's genre scenes (whose subjects have

7*
been criticized f o r their obviousness) as w e l l as his paintings (such as The Oleander)
w i t h n o subject at a l l .
T h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y e l a b o r a t i o n of paintings such as Spring developed f r o m
A l m a Tadema's belief t h a t w h e n i t came t o beauty, m o r e was more. I n 1894 a
friend,
sometime j o u r n a l i s t Ellen Gosse, observed: "There can be no d o u b t t h a t M r . A l m a
Tadema is so fascinated by the beauty of detail and of surface-painting, and so accom
plished i n rendering i t , t h a t he sometimes loses sight of the o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n of his pic
turethe m o t i v e of his c o m p o s i t i o n . . . . A l s o , w i t h this great k n o w l e d g e of detail, he
is i n c l i n e d t o be t o o lavish of d e c o r a t i o n . As an instance of this, a t t e n t i o n may be called
t o the fact t h a t his elaborately veined and finished marbles are often the plainest parts
of his p i c t u r e s w h e r e i n perhaps lies i n some measure the secret of his great c h a r m . " 69

I t seems peculiar t h a t , despite his c o m m i t m e n t t o art t h a t captured the feeling

of its t i m e , A l m a Tadema almost always p a i n t e d antique subjects. T h i s p a r a d o x is re
70

solved by his v i e w o f h u m a n nature and h i s t o r y ; whereas h i s t o r y consisted of a se

quence of m o r e o r less t r i v i a l or unpleasant events rarely w o r t h remembering i n detail,
h u m a n nature was the constant basis of Western c i v i l i z a t i o n . H i s friend G e o r g Ebers
explained: "As soon as the sensible lover of the historic life of m a n k i n d discovers t h a t
fact, he turns f r o m the p o l i t i c a l h i s t o r y of r o y a l families and governments, and per
ceives t h a t a people's true h i s t o r y is the h i s t o r y of its c i v i l i z a t i o n , w h i c h teaches the n o r
m a l character o f nations, their life i n a c o n d i t i o n o f health, and he joyfully perceives
h o w m u c h m o r e delightful i t is t o make himself f a m i l i a r w i t h the homes of the people
t o be investigated, the regulations of their government, their c i v i l and social life, their
r e l i g i o n a n d science, t h a n t o k n o w the names and b l o o d y deeds of their kings and the
battles they f o u g h t . " 71
Rather t h a n p a i n t the historic, A l m a Tadema o p t e d for w h a t he
called "the h u m a n " e x a m p l e s of h u m a n nature c o m m o n t o any and a l l h i s t o r i c a l pe
riods. Z i m m e r n n o t e d t h a t he selected m o m e n t s i n E g y p t i a n , Greek, o r R o m a n life t h a t
his fellow V i c t o r i a n s w o u l d find sympathetic or at least comprehensible. 72
His attitude
is exemplified by his defense of a p a i n t i n g s h o w i n g a queen m o u r n i n g her g r a n d c h i l
dren: " T h a t C l o t i l d e . . . s h o u l d have w e p t at their grave, is b u t h u m a n , and, as such,
certainly h i s t o r i c . " 73

73
 By p a i n t i n g c i v i l i z a t i o n h u m a n nature i n a c t i o n , so t o s p e a k A l m a Tadema
believed t h a t he h a d f o u n d t r u l y timeless subject matter. Yet, he also f o u n d some pe
r i o d s t h e Greek a n d R o m a n erasmore attractive t h a n othersthe M e r o v i n g i a n o r
the m o d e r n . Ebers n o t e d :

From the kingdom of the Franks Tadema turned . . . to Rome and Hellas, and here the
progress of civilization awakened an interest that far outweighed every other. . . . So at
last he could not help feeling as much at home in ancient as in modern times. The epoch
of human life when the good and the beautiful, uniting, hovered before the struggling soul
as the final end to be attained, was far nearer to him and offered much deeper satisfaction
to his genius than his own time, when beauty is overshadowed by utility, goodness by craft,
and it is considered as commendable to withdraw from nature as in ancient times it was
held praiseworthy to dwell near her and live in accordance w i t h her laws. His idealistic
spirit yearned to escape from a society which, like the blase, values only what is real. 74

A n c i e n t c i v i l i z a t i o n , w h i l e closely l i n k e d t o the m o d e r n by h u m a n nature and progress,

was purer a n d m o r e " h u m a n . " By this logic, a p a i n t i n g of an ancient subject w o u l d be
a m o r e s p i r i t u a l w o r k of art t h a n an equally beautiful p a i n t i n g of m o d e r n life.
By these standards Spring is an i m p o r t a n t p r o d u c t of A l m a Tadema's idealistic
philosophy. Its simple subjectthe annual celebration of nature's renewalis suffi
ciently " h u m a n " t o have aroused empathetic responses even f r o m V i c t o r i a n L o n d o n
ers. (One recalls the statement f r o m Chambers's Book of Days about the heightened
enthusiasm f o r M a y ceremonies a m o n g u r b a n dwellers.) T h e fact t h a t most V i c t o r i a n s
believed i n the c o n t i n u i t y of m a y i n g t r a d i t i o n s f r o m R o m a n times t o their present
strengthened A l m a Tadema's c l a i m t o be p o r t r a y i n g c i v i l i z a t i o n rather t h a n history.
F u r t h e r m o r e , the simple m a y i n g theme covers a deeper subject, N a t u r e herself. T h e
gorgeous flowers, o b v i o u s bits o f nature i m p o r t e d i n t o the glistening city, m i g h t easily
be dismissed as evanescent ornaments. B u t the satyrs, the i n v o c a t i o n t o Priapus, and
the i m p l i c i t presence of the goddess Flora are n o t so easily dismissed, since a l l represent
forces o f N a t u r e w h i c h even the V i c t o r i a n s c o u l d n o t repress completely.

W h a t e v e r its i n t r i n s i c interest, Spring's subject fully accomplishes its p r i m a r y

74
f u n c t i o n of a f f o r d i n g pretexts for art. I t is here, finally, i n the w o r k i n g o u t of a p a i n t i n g
(rather t h a n i n some intellectual theory) t h a t A l m a Tadema's concept of A r t reveals i t
self. The s p r i n g theme a l l o w e d h i m t o make a beautiful arrangement full of beautiful
things, beautifully p a i n t e d . Flowers, b u i l d i n g s , people, sculpture, weather, r i t u a l
each a n d a l l are b e a u t i f u l ; the result is A r t . The artistic philosophy exemplified by this
p a i n t i n g is shockingly self-effacing. A l m a Tadema was less the master of w h a t he saw
and k n e w t h a n its h u m b l e servant. As Gosse observed, "Sometimes a l o n g i n g comes
over us for a l i t t l e repose f r o m a l l this c r o w d e d perfection of detail; a w i s h creeps i n t o
the m i n d for a l i t t l e dimness, a slight mist over i t a l l , o r for at least a little u n c e r t a i n t y
i n some of the details. . . . [But] he draws everything t o measure; every i n c h , o r f r a c t i o n
of an i n c h is p r o v e d ; ' I t must, i t shall, be r i g h t and exact; i f y o u are sure of y o u r facts,
w h y hesitate t o state t h e m definitely?' is w h a t this severe master of detail may say t o any
one w h o recommends a concession t o w h a t is graceful or a p p a r e n t . " 75
One m i g h t de
scribe A l m a Tadema as a p o r t r a i t i s t of the b e a u t i f u l , i f n o t its creator.
A l m a Tadema's obsession w i t h specific appearances most affected his repre
sentation of people. H e p a i n t e d almost all of his figures f r o m life, fully dressed a n d
a d o r n e d as they w o u l d appear i n the finished p a i n t i n g . H e seems t o have designed their
costumes himself using Greek and R o m a n prototypes. The dresses were made u p f r o m
silks and w o o l s i m p o r t e d by the firm of L i b e r t y and C o m p a n y , L o n d o n , w h i c h also
m a r k e t e d g o w n s based o n styles A l m a Tadema designed for his models o r for theatrical
p r o d u c t i o n s . T h e p h i l o s o p h y of Liberty's dress department, founded by the architect
E d w a r d G o d w i n , closely resembled A l m a Tadema's approach t o the past. A c c o r d i n g
t o the 1887 catalogue, the department was "arranged for the study and execution of
costumes, e m b r a c i n g a l l periods of historic dress, together w i t h such modifications of
really b e a u t i f u l examples as may be adapted t o the conventionalities of m o d e r n life,
w i t h o u t r e n d e r i n g t h e m eccentric o r b i z a r r e . " 76
I n 1894 Liberty's offered the " H e r -
m i o n e " (fig. 5 6 ) , closely resembling the g o w n s of the flower-wand bearers i n Spring.
L i k e every other element of A l m a Tadema's art, his models h a d t o be b e a u t i f u l ,
b u t n o t a l l were professionals. T h e m u s i c i a n George Henschel, a great friend of the art
ist, l o o k s o u t f r o m the balcony just b e l o w the capital w i t h satyr and panpipes (figs. 57,

75
58), a n d his daughter H e l e n posed for the daisy-crowned g i r l s h o w n i n profile i n the
upper r i g h t balcony (fig. 59). Fifty years later she still recalled the misery of p o s i n g :

Sometimes he used friends as models. The only time I ever sat to him was when quite a
child; I was one of a crowd looking from a high balcony on to a festival procession passing
below. I had to wear a heavy chaplet of daisies, and in this top-heavy condition, on an ex
cessively hot morning, lean from a high step-ladder, looking over its edge. I remember feel
ing gradually sicker and sicker, but not being allowed to get down until the painting was
finished. It's a charming little head, among the hundreds of figures in the picture, but Tad
ema little knew how narrowly his head had escaped disaster! He usually wore a large straw
sun-hat while painting; perhaps, in this case, luckily for him. 77

A n o t h e r c h i l d , nine-year-old Ilona Eibenschutz, posed for one of the little flower bear
ers i n the f o r e g r o u n d ; she is the d a r k - h a i r e d g i r l l o o k i n g t o w a r d the r i g h t (fig. 1 1 ) . 78

A l m a Tadema himself m a y appear i n the scene, as the m a r b l e bust i n the l o w e r left cor
ner (fig. 2 9 ) . T h e neatly t r i m m e d beard and distinctively shaped nose resemble his Self-
Portrait o f 1896 (frontis.).
Despite their beauty, the critics castigated the figures i n many of A l m a Tade
ma's pictures. J o h n R u s k i n felt t h a t i n general, the m o r e animated A l m a Tadema's
m o d e l , the worse he p a i n t e d i t (in Ruskin's terms he p a i n t e d a silver plate best and h u
m a n figures b a d l y ) . H e l e n Z i m m e r n deplored the artist's failure t o depict e m o t i o n a l
7 9

characters o r d r a m a t i c m o m e n t s . 80
Yet, concerned as A l m a Tadema was w i t h likeness
a n d beauty, such criticisms were m i n o r . R a w e m o t i o n , desperate a c t i o n , o r an inac
curate likeness w o u l d d i s t o r t n o t only the i n d i v i d u a l image b u t also the artist's deco
rous v i s i o n o f refined c i v i l i z a t i o n (the end result of hundreds of such p o r t r a i t s ) .
T h e c i v i l i z a t i o n depicted i n Spring is idealized and beautiful, dedicated t o na
ture, art, beauty, a n d goodness. Its populace is y o u n g , healthy, artistic, w e l l mannered,
a n d appealingly " h u m a n , " a n d one can imagine i t governed by an amiable aesthete like
A l m a Tadema himself. B u t i t is n o t , w i t h hindsight, as timeless as the artist may have
w i s h e d . A s w e have seen, Spring's imagery depends heavily o n G r e c o - R o m a n artifacts,
V i c t o r i a n social r i t u a l s , a n d the assumption t h a t the t w o h i s t o r i c a l periods were con-

76
 Figure 56. Ladies' Costumes. "Hermione,"
1894. Reproduced from "Liberty" Cos
tumes, Mantles, and Millinery for Ladies &
Children, Season 18945 (London, Liberty
and Company, 1894), p. 15. Courtesy of the
Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert
Museum.

nected by a shared culture. A l m a Tadema's life, as w e l l as his art, can be seen as an i l

l u s t r a t i o n o f t h a t a s s u m p t i o n . Such a v i e w p o i n t , so c o m m o n i n the later nineteenth
century t h a t m a n y t o o k i t f o r granted, is explicitly a n d elegantly stated by H e n r y James
i n the o p e n i n g p a r a g r a p h of his novel The Golden Bowl of 1904:

The Prince had always liked his London, when it had come to him; he was one of the M o d
ern Romans who find by the Thames a more convincing image of the truth of the ancient

77
Figure 57. LAWRENCE A L M A T A D E M A . Spring, detail of figures at upper right.
Figure 58. Unknown photographer. Por
trait of George Henschel, early twentieth
century. Reproduced from H . Henschel,
When Soft Voices Die: A Musical Biography
(London, 1944), fronds.
Figure 59. Unknown photographer. "Nan
ny" with Helen, circa 1 8 9 5 . Reproduced
from Henschel (1944), opp. p. 7 3 .

state than any they have left by the Tiber. Brought up on the legend of the City to which
the world paid tribute, he recognised in the present London much more than in contem
porary Rome the real dimensions of such a case. If it was a question of Imperium, he said
to himself, and if one wished, as a Roman, to recover a little of the sense of that, the place
to do so was on London Bridge, or even, on a fine afternoon in May, on Hyde Park
Corner. 81

79
 T h r o u g h o u t the 1890s the idea of M a y 1 as a date o n w h i c h t o celebrate the
c o n t i n u i t y of i m p e r i a l culture appeared constantly. For example, i n 1891 i t f o u n d its
w a y i n t o a Punch c a r t o o n e n t i t l e d Fashions Floralia (fig. 6 0 ) . Here the antique goddess
presides over a procession of figures representing the openings of art e x h i b i t i o n s and
led by L o r d L e i g h t o n i n a toga, representing the R o y a l A c a d e m y . The academy's an
82

n u a l spring e x h i b i t i o n (at w h i c h Spring appeared i n 1895) opened o n M a y 1 (or the

nearest convenient weekend day) t o an elite audience, m a k i n g i t a gala date n o t only
for N a t u r e b u t also f o r A r t , n o t t o m e n t i o n the L o n d o n social season. O n a m o r e p o p
u l a r level, the F l o r a l i a appeared i n its medieval, more emphatically B r i t i s h f o r m i n plays
and festivals f o r the u r b a n c r o w d . U n l i k e the M a g d a l e n College M a y ceremonies,
w h i c h h a d some justification i n h i s t o r i c a l t r a d i t i o n , m a n y of these " t r a d i t i o n a l " festi
vals were actually n e w inventions based o n notions of " h o w i t must have b e e n . " 83
In
1895 t n e
L y c e u m Theatre offered King Arthur w i t h Ellen Terry starring as Guinevere.
T h e p r i n c i p a l scene of the queen's m a y i n g i n the W h i t e t h o r n W o o d featured Terry at
tended by w h i t e - r o b e d maidens w i t h the inevitable flower wands and garnered t w o
full-page i l l u s t r a t i o n s i n The Illustrated London News (figs. 6 1 , 6 2 ) . T h e A r t h u r i a n
legend was especially i m p o r t a n t for the i m p e r i a l M a y t r a d i t i o n because historians
credited A r t h u r w i t h the preservation of R o m a n culture i n t o the C h r i s t i a n era. T h u s ,
p o p u l a r ceremonies c o u l d be l i n k e d w i t h a cult of B r i t i s h royalty, as i n the festivities at
Saint M a r y Cray i n K e n t , staged for "a large n u m b e r of people employed i n the paper-
m i l l s as w e l l as . . . the r u r a l f o l k . . . . M i s s A d a Lisney made a c h a r m i n g M a y Queen,
w h i l e M r . a n d M r s . W . T i c k n e r personated K i n g H e n r y and his c o n s o r t . " 84
The report
of this festival stressed the M a y Queen's innocent behavior and H e n r y V I I P s p o r t r a y a l
at a m o m e n t p r e d a t i n g his c u s t o m of d i v o r c i n g o r executing his wives. Even London's
desperately p o o r a n d tragically neglected East E n d was visited by M a y festivals. A fes
t i v a l p r o g r a m n o t e d : "There is something pathetic i n the Bermondsey of to-day, where
the c h i l d r e n h o l d their M a y - d a y revels, a n d where w e must seek for the l i n g e r i n g t r a
d i t i o n s o f c h i v a l r y and romance, learning and sanctity." T h i s was a l l p a r t of a larger
p r o g r a m t o " m a k e the masses realise their s p i r i t u a l and social s o l i d a r i t y w i t h the rest
of the c a p i t a l and k i n g d o m : h o w t o revive their sense of citizenship, w i t h its privileges

80
 Figure 6 0 . L I N L E Y SAMBOURNE (British,
18441910). Fashion's Floralia: or, The Ur
ban Queen of the May, 1 8 9 1 . Reproduced
from Punch 100 (May 9, 1891), p. 218. San
M a r i n o , The Huntington Library.

w h i c h they have lost, a n d its responsibilities w h i c h they have f o r g o t t e n . " 85

Spring's M a y festival falls at the elitist and idealist end of the spectrum of
1890s festivities. I m p e r i a l c i v i l i z a t i o n a m i x o f the best of ancient R o m e a n d V i c t o
r i a n B r i t a i n a p p e a r s i n its finest m o m e n t . Banished are poverty, ignorance, d i r t , a n d
vice ( a l t h o u g h i t is n o t clear w h e t h e r they are gone altogether o r just m o v e d t o some
other p a r t of the c i t y ) . T h e privileges of citizenship are p r o u d l y displayed, its respon
sibilities m i n i m i z e d m i s s i n g along w i t h the p o o r a n d the w o r k i n g class are soldiers,
p o l i c e m e n , a n d other servants of the state. H o w e v e r , since the massive c r o w d behaves
perfectly, w i t h a b l e n d o f j o y a n d d e c o r u m rarely f o u n d i n m o d e r n times, a c o n t r o l l i n g
presence is unnecessary. Such an o p t i m i s t i c v i s i o n of i m p e r i a l c i v i l i z a t i o n accorded
w e l l w i t h late V i c t o r i a n t h i n k i n g a b o u t the beneficial effects of Britain's g l o b a l d o m i
nance. L o r d C r o m e r , f o r example, i n an extended essay c o m p a r i n g the R o m a n a n d

81
Figure 6 1 . Window and Grove (British). Miss Ellen Terry as Guinevere
in "King Arthur," at the Lyceum, 1895. Reproduced from Illustrated
London News 106, no. 2917 (March 16, 1895), cover.
 Figure 6 2 . CECIL A L D I N (British, 1870-
1935). "King Arthur" at the Lyceum: The
Queens Maying in the Whitethorn Wood,
1895. Reproduced from Illustrated London
News 106, no. 2909 (January 19, 1895), P-
72-

B r i t i s h empires, expressed the v i e w t h a t R o m e h a d been more tolerant and artistically

richer, b u t m o d e r n B r i t a i n enjoyed an edge by v i r t u e of its C h r i s t i a n faith and a b i l i t y
t o e x p l o i t distant sources of p r o d u c t i o n and m a r k e t s . 86
A l s o t y p i c a l , and especially rel
evant t o Spring, is an essay e n t i t l e d " T h e W o m e n of I m p e r i a l R o m e and English
W o m e n of To-day," published i n 1894. The a u t h o r begins, " W r i t e r s have often d r a w n
a parallel between the c i v i l i s a t i o n of the B r i t i s h E m p i r e of to-day and t h a t of I m p e r i a l
R o m e under the Caesarsthe latter a most fascinating p e r i o d , appealing t o the i m a g
i n a t i o n by the strength, b r i l l i a n c y and genius for government displayed, b u t w a n t i n g i n
all t h a t makes a n a t i o n lastingly great, m o r a l i t y , o r a sense of r i g h t and w r o n g . " She
continues, " H o w e v e r complete the parallel may be i n certain respects between the t w o
Empires, i n the most v i t a l p o i n t of a l l , the m o r a l i t y , i n t e g r i t y and superiority of its

83
Figure 6 3 . S I R J O H N T E N N I E L (British, 1 8 2 0 - 1 9 1 4 ) . The New "Queen of the May"
1892. Reproduced from Punch 102 (April 3 0 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 2 1 1 . San Marino, The Hun
tington Library.
Figure 6 4 . The Procession Entering Hyde Park, 1892. Reproduced from Illustrated London
News 100, no. 2 7 6 8 (May 7 , 1 8 9 2 ) , p. 5 5 8 .

w o m e n , the m o d e r n E m p i r e is infinitely i n advance of the ancient one. . . . W h i l e

w o m e n fight the evils i n o u r m i d s t w i t h m o r a l weapons, endeavor t o conquer vice, i g
norance, d r i n k , a n d incapacity, and t o substitute i n their stead goodness, beauty, a n d
t r u t h , and w h i l e l o a t h i n g the sin d o their u t m o s t for the sinner, we need n o t fear the fate
of o l d R o m e w i l l overtake u s . " 87
F r o m this one m i g h t conclude t h a t i f ancient R o m e
h a d been p o p u l a t e d w i t h m o d e r n English w o m e n , h u m a n c i v i l i z a t i o n w o u l d n o w re
semble the v i s i o n o f life presented i n Spring.
Sad t o say, i t does n o t , n o r d i d i t at the end of the nineteenth century. H i s t o r y ,
t h a t tedious a n d v i o l e n t alternative t o " h u m a n " c i v i l i z a t i o n , presents quite a different
picture of M a y D a y i n V i c t o r i a n B r i t a i n . I n 1889 the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Socialist Congress

85
declared M a y i t o be an i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a b o r day. 1890 was quiet, b u t i n 1891 massive
M a y D a y strikes were organized i n a l l the capitals of Europe and i n E n g l a n d . As The
Spectator r e p o r t e d i t ,

One need not be a Socialist to feel the imaginative impact of the scene which Western Eu
rope presented on May ist. "A wave of whiteness went over the wheat," and the unity of
the wheat-straws, at least for certain purposes, was made manifest to the eye. In every
highly civilised land, in France and England and Germany and Austria and Italy, and even
Spain, there was a perceptible spasm of unrest, a quiver as if the great mass of life under
neath the social crust were heaving with a throb. As if stirred by an instinctive impulse,
the artisans of many countries, though separated from each other by race, language, and
creed, often hostile, and always ignorant of each other, made one common effort to ex
press the same thought, or rather, the same desire; and did succeed in making it so artic
ulate that at least the Governments heard, and, except in England, stood everywhere to
arms. 88

These governments, i n fact, ordered their troops t o fire o n demonstrators, causing

m a n y deaths, especially i n France a n d Italy. The events of M a y 1, 1 8 9 1 , inspired fear
a n d h o r r o r o n b o t h sides: w o r k i n g m e n risked death i n their peaceable efforts t o l i m i t
i n d u s t r i a l w o r k i n g h o u r s ; governments and capitalist employers dreaded the possibil
i t y o f an i n t e r n a t i o n a l , p o t e n t i a l l y r e v o l u t i o n a r y movement infiltrated by anarchist ter
rorists. N o t surprisingly, the weeks leading u p t o M a y D a y 1892 were filled w i t h ten
sion, reflected i n E n g l a n d by a n e w Punch Queen of the M a y considerably less
attractive t h a n her predecessor of 1890 (fig. 6 3 ) . Fear was f o l l o w e d by relief as the huge
c r o w d s gathered peacefully; three h u n d r e d t o five h u n d r e d thousand assembled i n L o n
don's H y d e Park for parades a n d speeches (see fig. 6 4 ) . M a y D a y demonstrations i n
1893, %94-> a n d 1895 r e m a i n e d o r d e r l y and gradually d i m i n i s h e d i n scale as govern
1

ments sought t o meet wage earners' demands a n d w o r k e r s disassociated themselves

f r o m a n a r c h i s m . Nevertheless, t h r o u g h o u t the 1890s, as A l m a Tadema w o r k e d o n
Spring, the p o s s i b i l i t y o f a w o r k e r s ' r e v o l u t i o n overshadowed R o y a l A c a d e m y open
ings a n d m o r a l i z i n g M a y Queens alike w h e n people's thoughts t u r n e d t o M a y 1 .

86
Figure 6 5 . W A L T E R C R A N E (British, 184 5 - 1 9 1 5 ) . The Triumph of Labour, 1891. Reproduced
from R G . Konody, The Art of Walter Crane (London, 1902), opp. p. 86.

There were, then, t w o M a y Days i n E n g l a n d i n the 1890s: the elite, historiciz-

ing festivals exemplified by Spring, and the w o r k e r s ' H y d e Park rallies, w h i c h devel
oped an iconography of their o w n . The w o r k e r s ' cause aroused considerable sympathy
a m o n g B r i t o n s , i n c l u d i n g such p r o m i n e n t artists as W i l l i a m M o r r i s , Walter Crane, and
C. R. Ashbee. Crane i n p a r t i c u l a r t u r n e d o u t a steady stream of banners, p r i n t s , and
p o e t r y i n s u p p o r t o f socialist issues. H i s most i m p o r t a n t p r i n t , The Triumph of Labour
(fig. 6 5 ) , commemorates the 1891 I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a y Day and forms a s t r i k i n g compar
ison w i t h Spring. T h e images have m u c h i n c o m m o n : processional subject matter,
masses of people, standard bearers w i t h inscribed banners, t a m b o u r i n e players, and
garlands of flowers. B u t Crane's parade is p o p u l a t e d by w o r k e r s ; the presiding goddess,
L i b e r t y , is supported by F r a t e r n i t y and E q u a l i t y ; and the m o r a l values celebrated are
those of m a n u a l l a b o r and w o r k e r solidarity. Since the w o r k e r s steadfastly opposed i m
p e r i a l i s m , believing t h a t cheap i m p o r t e d goods eroded the value of their labor, Crane re
placed references t o ancient R o m e w i t h allusions t o the t r a d i t i o n a l English countryside.

The Triumph of Labour appeared just as A l m a Tadema was beginning his

87
Figure 66. Unknown photographer. Scene from "Cleopatra. Caesar's Triumphal Entry into
33

Rome, 1934. Publicity still. by Universal Pictures, a Division of Universal City Studios, Inc.
Courtesy of M C A Publishing Rights, a Division of M C A Inc.

w o r k o n Spring, a n d one m u s t w o n d e r t o w h a t extent his F l o r a l i a a t r i u m p h o f lei

surewas a reaction against the socialist image. I n any case, the c o m p e t i n g views
clearly reflect differences w i t h i n B r i t i s h society about the significance o f M a y 1 as w e l l
as larger, related p o l i t i c a l controversies about the nation's future. W h o w o u l d c o n t r o l
the destiny of the so-called " G a r d e n of England?" For A l m a Tadema a n d his fellow elit
ist aesthetes, the future lay i n the p u r s u i t o f empire (recall his interest i n H a d r i a n , the
c o n s o l i d a t o r o f R o m a n I m p e r i a l m i g h t ) , the cult o f royalty, a n d the enjoyment o f a l l of

88
the arts, f r o m p a i n t i n g and music t o gardening. T h e socialists sought t o dismember the
empire, restore the rights o f i n d u s t r i a l wage w o r k e r s , and p r o m o t e domestic agricul
ture. Should future B r i t o n s be p i c k i n g hothouse flowers o r harvesting wheat?
T h e rise o f the l a b o r m o v e m e n t and socialism and the w e a k e n i n g of the B r i t i s h
empire a n d strengthening of G e r m a n y and the U n i t e d States, a l l o c c u r r i n g at the t u r n
of the century, presaged the end of the o p t i m i s t i c i m p e r i a l i s t philosophy e m b o d i e d i n
A l m a Tadema's art. H i s realistic idealism also was b e c o m i n g o u t m o d e d as avant-garde
French paintingPost-Impressionism and Symbolismfinally f o u n d supporters i n
E n g l a n d . T h e nostalgia expressed i n Swinburne's " D e d i c a t i o n " and i m p l i c i t i n Spring
therefore may have been n o t only for the lost antique past b u t also f o r m o r e recent
losses of p o s i t i o n a n d prestige. N o one, and certainly n o t A l m a Tadema himself, c o u l d
have predicted h o w r a p i d l y his o w n fortunes w o u l d p l u m m e t after his death o n the eve
of the First W o r l d War, however. A savage o b i t u a r y by Roger Fry, chief p r o p o n e n t o f
Post-Impressionism i n E n g l a n d , launched the decline. 89

T h e h i s t o r y of Spring after the death of its m a k e r 90

constitutes a m o r a l tale i n
itself. Even before i t was completed, A l m a Tadema h a d sold the picture t o R o b e r t v o n
M e n d e l s s o h n , a G e r m a n banker w i t h musical tastes similar t o his o w n . M e n d e l s s o h n
was one o f m a n y G e r m a n financiers then collecting c o n t e m p o r a r y B r i t i s h art. I n 1 9 0 1 ,
however, he sold Spring t o make w a y i n his collection for w o r k s by M a n e t a n d other
French painters 9 1
Spring was snapped u p the same year by the A m e r i c a n m i l l i o n a i r e
Charles T. Yerkes, thus t r a v e l i n g t o the h o m e o f the rising i m p e r i a l p o w e r t h a t w o u l d
supplant B r i t a i n after W o r l d W a r I . A l m a Tadema m i g h t w e l l have approved o f M r s .
Yerkes's c u s t o m o f dressing u p i n L i b e r t y - i n s p i r e d togas and assuming artistic poses
based o n the p i c t u r e ; after a l l , he enjoyed w e a r i n g togas and flower wreaths at parties
92

himself. Yet, even after the p a i n t i n g passed o u t o f the Yerkeses' hands i n t o the o b s c u r i t y
of s m a l l M i d w e s t e r n collections, i t remained an i n s p i r a t i o n t o Americans d r e a m i n g o f
i m p e r i a l grandeur. W h e n m a k i n g his f i l m Cleopatra (1934), Cecil B. D e M i l l e needed
a p r o t o t y p e f o r a scene o f Caesar's t r i u m p h a n t r e t u r n t o R o m e after c o n q u e r i n g E g y p t
for the E m p i r e . Spring suggested the procession led by flower-bearing starlets and
h a i l e d by tiers o f spectators tossing bouquets (fig. 6 6 ) . H a v i n g "gone H o l l y w o o d " as

89
early as the 1930s, the p a i n t i n g emerged, after decades of obscurity, i n Beverly H i l l s and
passed several years later t o the Getty M u s e u m . Once againand p e r m a n e n t l y i t
f o u n d a place i n the possession of a p l u t o c r a t w i t h dreams of empire, obsessed w i t h a
v i s i o n of r e v i v i n g ancient R o m e i n m o d e r n t i m e s . 93

90
 N O T E S
1 . Tadema had a side to his character which might
be called hobble-de-hoyish; he rejoiced in toys of
every description, and kept a huge collection of them
in cupboards in the billiard room. Many a time have
I seen him sitting on the floor, surrounded by roaring
lions, comic monkeys, all sorts of creatures, zoologi
cally recognisable or otherwise, showing them off to
some new friend with great roars of laughter. How he
would have adored Donald Duck! . . . It was hard to
recognise in this immense child the painter of those
pictures ( H . Henschel, When Soft Voices Die: A
Musical Biography [London, 1 9 4 4 ] ^ . 102).
For full biographies of Alma Tadema, see P. C.
Standing, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, O.M.,
R.A. (London, Paris, New York, and Melbourne,
1905); R. Ash, Alma-Tadema: An Illustrated Life
of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema 18361912 (Ayles-
burg, Bucks., 1973); and V. G. Swanson, Alma-
Tadema: The Painter of the Victorian Vision of the
Ancient World (New York, 1977).
2. Information from V. Swanson.
3. John Ruskin quoted by Allen Funt, in C.
Forbes, Victorians in Togas: Paintings by Sir Law
rence Alma-Tadema from the Collection of Allen
Funt, exh. cat. (Metropolitan Museum of A r t ,
New York, 1973), Foreword.
4. B. B. Fredericksen, Alma Tadema's Spring
(Malibu, 1976; rev. edn. 1978), pp. 27-29.
5. A . C. Swinburne, Poems & Ballads (First
Series) (London, I 9 i 9 ) , p p . 29396.
6. M . Warner, "Comic and Aesthetic: James
Tissot in the Context of British A r t and Taste," in
K. Matyjaszkiewicz, ed., James Tissot, exh. cat.
(Barbican A r t Gallery, London, 1984), p. 33.
7. C. Kightly, The Customs and Ceremonies
of Britain (London, 1986), pp. 159-62.
8. D . Cannadine, "The Context, Perfor
mance and Meaning of Ritual: The British M o n
archy and the 'Invention of Tradition', c. 1 8 2 0 -
1977," in E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger, eds., The
Invention of Tradition (Cambridge, 1983), pp.
120-39.
91
9. Fredericksen (note 4), p. 2 1 .
10. H . H . Scullard, Festivals and Ceremonies
of the Roman Republic (Ithaca, N.Y., 1981), pp.
102-3.
11. W. Pater, Marius the Epicurean: His Sen
sations and Ideas, 2 vols. (1885; New York, 1901).
12. Ibid., vol. 1, p. 4.
13. "Notes," in Royal Academy Pictures
{Magazine of Art suppl.) (1895), p. v.
14. Scullard (note 10), pp. 110-11.
15. J. Ingram, Flora symbolica; or, The Lan
guage and Sentiment of Flowers (London and New
York, 1869), pp. 52.-53.
16. Ibid., p. 55.
17. C. Dickens, "The First of May," in
Sketches by Boz (1850; Philadelphia, 1873), P-
203.
18. R. Chambers, ed., The Book of Days: A
Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection
with the Calendar, 2 vols. (London and Edin
burgh, 1863), vol. 1, p. 571.
19. K G . Stephens, "Fine Arts. The Royal
Academy. (First Notice)," Athenaeum 3523 (May
4, 1895), p. 575-
20. Kightly (note 7), p. 160.
21. G. R. Strange, ed., The Poetical Works of
Tennyson (Boston, 1974), pp. 4751.
22. T. Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891;
New York, i 9 8 i ) , p p . 5-13.
23. M . Bennett, William Holman Hunt, exh.
cat. (Walker A r t Gallery and Victoria and Albert
Museum, Liverpool and London, 1969), pp. 5 8 -
59, no. 59.
24. Illustrated London News 96, no. 2665
(May 17, 1890), p. 622.
25. G. P. Landow, William Holman Hunt and
Typological Symbolism (New Haven and London,
1979), pp. 138-39.
26. Reverend J. P. Faunthorpe, "A May-
Queen Festival," Nineteenth Century 219 (May
1895), pp. 7 4 5 - 4 6 .
 27. Ibid., p. 746.
28. Ibid., p. 734.
29. Ibid., p. 735.
30. F. G. Stephens, "Fine A r t Gossip," Athe
naeum 3479 (June 30, 1894), p. 844; Stephens
(note 19). The absence of priest, attendant, and
vessels in the 1894 description and their presence
in the 1895 description suggest that they were
added during the revision.
31. Illustrated London News 94, no. 2602
(March 2, 1889), p. 274.
32. Ibid.
33. Illustrated London News 106, no. 2924
(May 4,1895), p. 5 3 - 1
34. Stephens (note 30).
35. Swinburne (note 5), p. 342.
36. For a detailed discussion of Alma Tade
ma's methods of constructing space, see E. Gosse,
"Laurens Alma-Tadema," Century Magazine 47
(February 1894), PP- 4 9 3 9 4 - One paragraph of
-
her essay bears quoting, since it may describe a
conversation w i t h the artist about Spring:
I recollect once remarking to Mr. Alma-Tadema that
I thought a pillar in the foreground of one of his pic
tures was rather too conspicuous; whereupon he at
once showed me that it was obliged to be so, as it was
the continuation of the line of architecture carried for
ward from the rear of the building, and he went on to
point out how this facade fitted on to that hall, and
that flight of steps made some other wall finish at a
given angle, and so on, until I found myself quite con
vinced of the actuality of the whole thing, and be
lieved, as he did, in the absolute necessity of that col
umn remaining where it was, even if it did still seem
unduly prominent.
The large pillar i n the left foreground of Spring
might conceivably have been the subject of this
conversation.
37. Standing (note 1), p. 123.
38. Kightly (note 7), p. 159; Faunthorpe (note
26), p. 745.
39. D . Stuart, The Garden Triumphant: A
Victorian Legacy (London, 1988), chaps. 5,6.
40. Ingram (note 15), pp. 1 4 0 - 4 1 , 358; J.J.
Grandville, The Court of Flora: Les Fleurs ani-
mees (1847; N e w York, 1981), not paginated.
4 1 . Ingram (note 15), pp. 357, 358.
42. Ibid., p. 49.
43. Stephens (note 19), p. 575.
92.
44. Divided by the artist into three canvases
now in Soestdijk, Soestdijk Palace; Amsterdam,
Historisch Museum; and Paris, Centre Georges
Pompidou.
45. E. Nash, The Pictorial Dictionary of An
cient Rome (London, 1961), vol. 1, p. 106.
46. A Guide in the National Museum of Na
ples and Its Principal Monuments Illustrated (Na
ples, [circa 1836]), pp. 2 8 - 2 9 .
47. Information from K. Manchester, Assis
tant Curator, Department of Antiquities, J. Paul
Getty Museum.
48. F. Haskell and N . Penny, Taste and the An
tique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 15001900
(New Haven and London, 1981), p. 159; A Guide
. . . (note 46), pp. 32.-33-
49. Birmingham University Library, Alma
Tadema Archives, Photographs Collection, Port
folio 116, E.2612 (pencil drawing).
50. Birmingham University Library, Alma
Tadema Collection, Index of Portfolios.
51. Birmingham University Library, Alma
Tadema Collection, Portfolio 140, 11754-1915.
52. Illustrated London News 100, suppl.
(May 7, 1892), p. 8.
53. V. Spinazzola, Le arti decorativi in Pompei
e nel Museo Nazionale di Napoli (Milan, Rome,
Venice, and Florence, 1928), p. 155.
54. M . Grant, The Art and Life of Pompeii
and Herculaneum (New York, 1979), pp. 76, 77.
55. A . M a u , Pompeii: Its Life and Art (1899;
rev. edn. 1902; reprint N e w Rochelle, 1982), p.
348.
56. Ibid., pp. 321, 330.
57. "Notes" (note 13), p. v.
58. Stephens (note 19), p. 575.
59. Stephens (note 30).
60. I . Jenkins, "Frederic L o r d Leighton and
Greek Vases," Burlington Magazine 125, no. 967
(October 1983), pp. 602, 605. M y thanks to M r .
Jenkins for his assistance w i t h the identification of
the relief.
6 1 . R . A . B . Mynors, ed., C. Valerii Catulli
carmina (Oxford, 1958), p. 106; P. Wigham, ed.
and trans., The Poems of Catullus (Harmonds-
w o r t h , 1966), p. 73. J. G. Fitch, University of Vic
toria, first identified the poem i n a letter to B. B.
Fredericksen, February 9, 1984 (Malibu, J. Paul
Getty Museum, Department of Paintings, Files).
He pointed out that Alma Tadema misspelled two
words i n his inscription: Lampsaci is incorrectly
spelled Lampsica, and Hellespontia is misspelled
Hellespontis.
62. J. Held, "Flora, Goddess and Courtesan,"
in De artibus opuscula XL: Essays in Honor ofEr-
win Panofsky (New York, 1961), vol. 1, p. 203.
Reform in Late 19th-century London," Paper
read at the annual meeting of the College A r t As
sociation, San Francisco, February 1989, pp. 78.
86. E. Baring, Earl of Cromer, Ancient and
Modern Imperialism (New York, 1910).
87. M . Dale, "The Women of Imperial Rome
and the English Woman of Today," Westminster
Review 141 (1894), PP- 49> 49 ? 5 -
1 0 1

63. See above (note 1). 88. Spectator wo. 3280 (May 9, i 8 9 i ) , p . 650.
64. R. Fry, "The Case of the Late Sir Lawrence 89. Fry (note 64), pp. 66667.
Alma Tadema, O . M . , " Nation 12, no. 16 (January 90. See Fredericksen (note 4), pp. 513.
18, I 9 i 3 ) , p p . 66667. 9 1 . Ibid., p. 9.
65. H . Zimmern, Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema 92. Ash (note 1), p. 44.
(London, 1902), pp. 27-28. 93. Since according to one source Getty be
66. L . Alma-Tadema, " A r t in Its Relation to lieved himself to be the reincarnation of the em
Industry," Magazine of Art 16(1893), p. 8. peror Hadrian, the association of this particular
67. Zimmern (note 65), p. 28. image of Hadrian's Rome w i t h a Hadrianic villa
68. Ibid. reconstruction is especially appropriate. See F. di
69. Gosse (note 36), p. 496. Giorgi, "Dolori e follie alia corte dell'uomo piu
70. Zimmern (note 65), p. 28. ricco del mondo," Club 3 (December 1989), p. 30.
7 1 . G. Ebers, Lorenz Alma Tadema: His Life
and Works, trans. M . J. Safford (New York, 1886),
p. 28.
72. Zimmern (note 65), p. 9.
73. Standing (note 1), pp. 2 0 - 2 1 .
74. Ebers (note 71), pp. 28, 33.
75. Gosse (note 36), pp. 4 9 5 - 9 6 .
76. "Liberty" Art (Dress) Fabrics & Personal
Specialities (London, 1886), p. 13.
77. Henschel (note 1), pp. 102-3.
78. M a l i b u , J. Paul Getty Museum, Depart
ment of Paintings, Files, Letter from V. Swanson,
July 5, 1987. In the same letter Swanson identifies
the bearded priest carrying a silver ewer as a self-
portrait. Although the idea of Alma Tadema as a
priest of Flora is appealing, the white beard rules
out this likelihood.
79. Standing (note 1), p. 53.
80. Zimmern (note 65), p. 29.
81. H . James, The Golden Bowl (1904; Lon
don, 1988), p. 43.
82. M y thanks to V. Swanson for identifying
L o r d Leigh ton.
83. Kightly (note 7), p. 160.
84. Illustrated London News 98, no. 2716
(May 9, i 8 9 i ) , p . 595.
85. Quoted in D . Weiner, '"The Highest A r t
for the Lowest People': The Architecture of Social

93
 S E L E C T E D B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Adams, W. D . The Buried Cities of Campania; or, 1989), p. 30.

Pompeii and Herculaneum, Their History, Ebers, G. Lorenz Alma Tadema: His Life and
Their Destruction, and Their Remains. Lon Works. Trans. M . J . Safford. New York, 1886.
don, 1872. Faunthorpe, Reverend J. P. "A May-Queen Festi
Adburgham, A . Liberty's: A Biography of a Shop. val." Nineteenth Century 219 (May 1895), PP-
London, 1975. 734-47-
Alma-Tadema, L . "Art in Its Relation to Industry."
Fitzgerald, P. Edward Burne-Jones. London,
Magazine of Art 16 (1893), pp. 8-10.
1975-
Ash, R. Alma-Tadema: An Illustrated Life of Sir
Forbes, C. Victorians in Togas: Paintings by Sir
Lawrence Alma-Tadema 1836-1912. Ayles
Lawrence Alma-Tadema from the Collection
bury, Bucks., 1973.
of Allen Punt. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum
Baring, E., Earl of Cromer. Ancient and Modern
of A r t , New York, 1973.
Imperialism. N e w York, 1910.
Fredericksen, B. B. Alma Tadema's Spring. M a l -
Bennett, M . William Holman Hunt. Exh. cat.
ibu, 1976; rev. edn. 1978.
Walker A r t Gallery and Victoria and Albert
Fry, R. "The Case of the Late Sir Lawrence Alma
Museum, Liverpool and London, 1969.
Tadema, O . M . " Nation 12, no. 16 (January 18,
Birmingham University Library, Alma Tadema
1913), pp. 666-67.
Collection
Gere, C , and G. M u n n . "A Rediscovered Symbol
Brilliant, R. Pompeii A.D. 79: The Treasure of Re
of Romantic Love." Antique Dealer & Collec
discovery. N e w York, 1979.
tor's Guide (May 1983), pp. 42-44.
Carter, T. The Victorian Garden. Salem, N . H . ,
. Artists' Jewellery: Pre-Raphaelite to Arts
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 A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

In the course of researching Spring, I relied heavily on the work of Burton B. Freder
icksen and Vern G. Swanson. Their publications (listed in the notes and bibliography), as well as
their correspondence over many years preserved in the Museum's files, simplified and clarified
my task. Swanson and Susan Casteras read the manuscript and rescued it from many errors of
fact and interpretation; those which slipped through may be attributed directly to the author.
I owe debts of gratitude not only to the curators, archivists, scholars, collectors, and
dealers who assisted me with my work but also to the many interested correspondents who have
contributed their insights and discoveries over the years. Particular thanks are due to Professor
John G. Fitch, who, from out of the blue, it seemed, identified the Latin verses by Catullus that
are key to my interpretation of the painting. This book would not have been the same without
the assistance of David Bindman, Owen Edgar, Peter Flory, Christopher Forbes, Madeleine Gins-
burg, I . D . Jenkins, Geoffrey M u n n , M a r k Murray, Nicholas Olsberg, Myra Orth, M r . Pinfield,
M a r k Poltimore, Virginia Renner, Caroline Rietz, Simon Taylor, Deborah Weiner, Andrews W i l
kinson, and Christopher Wood.
As usual, the Getty Museum's Publications staff and Photographic Services depart
ment rose nobly to the challenge of yet another project jammed into their busy schedules. I would
also like to thank all of the Museum's curators of paintings, whose love/hate relationships with
Spring did not prevent them from encouraging the development of this project over several years.
Everyone deserves to be showered with rose petalsor purple vetch, if historical accuracy is re
quirednext May first. But I would like to toss special bouquets to the two guys at home.

97
 The Getty Museum Studies
on A r t seek to introduce
individual works of note or
small groups of closely related
works to a broad public with
an interest in the history of art
and related disciplines. Each
monograph features a close
discussion of its subject as well
as a detailed analysis of the
broader context in which the
work was created, considering
relevant historical, cultural,
chronological, and other
questions. These volumes are
also intended to give readers
a sense of the range of
approaches which can be taken
in analyzing works of art
having a variety of functions
and coming from a wide range
of periods and cultures.

Andrea P. A. Belloli, Series Editor

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Thea Piegdon, Production Artist
Karen Schmidt, Production Manager

Typography by Wilsted & Taylor

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