Art Chowder July | August 2017, Issue 10 | Page 41

THE SALON OF 1874 By Melville Holmes Jean-Andre Rixens (1846-1925) Death of Cleopatra 1874 Oil On Canvas200x290 cm Musee des Augustins, Toulouse, France The scene derives from the story of Cleopatra’s suicide after the death of Marc Antony, according to one version of which she died from the bite of an asp hidden in a basket of figs, which is visible at the bedside beneath her, but not the snake. Paintings of the event usually show the queen holding the snake at her breast as a way to enable the viewer to recognize the subject. Plutarch reports that two small puncture woulds were found on her arm but no snake was found. At the top left to men approach the scene from the shadows, one cloaked and hooded, likely Octavian, followed by a Roman soldier. François Joseph Heim (1787 - 1865) Charles X Distributing Awards to the Artists at the Close of the Salon of 1824 oil on canvas 68 x 101” Louvre Museum Charles X became king following the death of Louis XVIII. The painting gives the viewer an idea of the splendor of the Salon setting in the gallery of the Royal Palace. Henri Gervex (1852 - 1929) A Session of the Painting Jury c. 1883 120 x 125” Musée d’Orsay The French government had stopped producing the Salons in 1881 and the duty was taken up by the Société des artistes français, made up of artists who selected the juries and dis- tributed awards. The Salon now took place in the Palais de l’Industrie that was part of the World’s Fair of 1855. Artists among the jurors in the painting are said to include Bou- guereau, Cabanal, Carolus-Duran (John Singer Sargent’s teacher), and Puvis de Chavannes. July | August 2017 41