02 Paintings, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Philip Hermogenes Calderon and Gustav Rienacker's Roman beauties, with Footnotes. #168

Gustav Rienacker (German, born 1861)

Roman woman in profile with oil lamp, c. 1912

Oil on firm cardboard

85.9 x 48 cm. (33.8 x 18.9 in.)

Private collection

Representation of a young, beautiful Roman or Vestal Virgin holding a small, burning oil lamp in her raised right hand to illuminate the room; in front of her a skull lying on an altar-like slab. Symbolistic painting characterized by the effective, mystical lighting mood, in which the skull can be interpreted as a reference to a temple, a crypt or a catacomb. More on this painting

Gustav RIENÄCKER is an artist born in Germany in 1861 and deceased in 1935. From the end of the 19th century painters based in Munich preferred to depict female nudes or oriental beauties and erotic motifs such as "Salome"; at the same time Gustav Rienacker worked as a sought-after portrait painter for several royal houses, including the Emperor's daughter Viktoria Luise of Prussia and her husband Ernst August Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg. Rienäcker taught at the Munich Academy and was represented several times in the Glaspalast from 1904 to 1929. More on Gustav Rienacker

Philip Hermogenes Calderon, RA, (BRITISH, 1833-1898)

A Roman beauty, c.1887

Oil on canvas

46 x 39.5cm (18 1/8 x 15 9/16in)

Private collection

Philip Hermogenes Calderon RA (Poitiers 3 May 1833 – 30 April 1898 London) was an English painter of French birth (mother) and Spanish (father) ancestry who initially worked in the Pre-Raphaelite style before moving towards historical genre. He was Keeper of the Royal Academy in London.

Calderon planned to study engineering, but he became so interested in drawing technical figures and diagrams that he changed his mind and devoted his time to art. In 1850, he trained at Leigh's art school, London, then went to Paris in 1851. His first successful painting was in 1852, which was followed by a much more popular one in 1856. He was inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, and some of his work showed the detail, deep colors, and realistic forms that characterize the style. 

His later paintings adopt a more classical style, comparable to Edward Poynter. Calderon became Keeper of the Royal Academy in 1887, and from then on worked to support the teaching of anatomy based on nude models at the Royal Academy Schools. His 1891 painting St Elizabeth of Hungary's great act of renunciation was secured by the Chantrey bequest for the national collection, and is now located in Tate Britain. More on Philip Hermogenes Calderon

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