Spectacular Death

A Christian Dirce (1897) by the Polish painter Henryk Hector Siemiradzki (1843-1902). Siemiradzki depicted here how a christian martyr is killed in the circus in a kind of re-enactment of the myth of Dirce who was killed by being tied to the horns of a bull. It's a very spectacular scenery from the apex of history painting, a pale beautiful body, a fat decadent Nero, gladiators and exotic Nubian slaves. Much too nice to frighten.

Kind of a Goddess

Phryne at the Festival of Poseidon in Eleusin (1889) by the Polish painter Henryk Hector Siemiradzki (1843-1902). Here a print of this popular painting

Phryne was the most famous hetaera of Ancient Greece (390-330 BC) whose beauty was compared to a goddess.

Because of her lovers she was very rich and Siemiradzki shows her here with a lot of servants and admirers. For him it was a good opportunity to depict a lot of historical costumes, items and architecture with every detail. But truth be told, above all it was a possibility to paint a beautiful woman, who is posing effectively in the center.

Nero’s Torches

When Roman decadence has become a popular subject artists discoverd christians martyrs. It wasn't the old martyrs well known from religious paintings. Know art favoured a morbid horror show. Here the viewer of the painting is more absorbed by the roman side, he is not suffering, he is watching the spectacle.


This painting "Nero’s Torches" (1876) by Henryk Hector Siemiradzki (1843-1902), shows how christian martyrs are burned alive on stakes. But just as important (or even more) are the roman costumes, all the exotic details and the half naked slave girls.

Viking Funerals

With romanticism and nationalsim european artists (and art buyers) turned their interest from a classical (means roman or greek) past to something, what they thought may have been their own history.
Looking for something, what could be considered an own "national"cult, they discovered the viking funeral. Although it was not really common in the older days, it was very popular in the 19th century.

Here two examples. The first is by the scottish painter Robert Gibb (1845-1932).
It may be the naive version of the story. Its idyllic and the people are mourning peaceully.



Totally different is the painting by the polish/russian painterHenryk Hector Siemiradzki (1843-1902).
He shows the burial of a varangian chief of the Kievan Rus, who was killed collecting tribute.
Its a dark barbaric feast with human sacrifices.
There could be no doubt that the painting was strong influenced by "The Death of Sardanapal"(1827) by Eugène Delacroix.