An Elephant; An indian Ox; An Antelope
1853
National Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)
Rome, Italy
Studies for After the Flood, commissioned by King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy and shown at the Exhibition held in Paris in 1867, where it obtained the gold medal. In the final work, elements of the “exotic”, which the painter had probably witnessed in France, are integrated with a background story from the Bible.
The Expulsion of the Duke of Athens
1860
National Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)
Rome, Italy
This work won the silver medal at the Paris exhibition of 1867. It represents the historical fall of Gualtieri di Brienne Duke of Athens and controversial tyrant of Florence (1342‒3). This theme, which the artist had been studying since 1854, is a metaphorical representation of political ambition and national identity against foreign domination.
1873
The Painting Collection of the The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Vice Secretary General, National Palaces, Dolmabahçe Palace
Istanbul, Turkey
This work (commissioned in 1869 to mark the opening of the Suez Canal) represents an interesting example of an Occidental artist commissioned by an Islamic patron. The huge painting, presented at exhibition held in Vienna in 1873, realistically depicts the religious procession carrying gifts from Cairo to the Ka’aba at Mecca.
The Temptations of Saint Antony
1878
National Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)
Rome, Italy
In this complex work by Morelli, exhibited at the exhibition held in Paris in 1878, the Orientalist component, linked with intense elements of verismo or realism, enhances a strong, mystic, but at the same time, erotic, tension of the hagiographic tale. The painting was probably inspired by Gustave Flaubert’s 1874 La tentation de Saint-Antoine (The Temptation of Saint Anthony).
1900
The National Museum
Belgrade, Serbia
Commissioned by the Kingdom of Serbia and shown at the exhibition held in Paris in 1900, the painting won a gold medal. To prepare the historical subject, Jovanovic travelled for two years throughout Vienna, Constantinople, Venice, Skopje and in Kosovo and Metohija, and then used a plein air technique to depict this most epic historical landmark of the nation.
1900
The National Museum
Belgrade, Serbia
The painting, commissioned by King Aleksandar Obrenović for the Paris exhibition of 1900, represents the inevitable fall of the town which is under attack by the Ottoman Turks. While it was rejected beforehand by the exhibition committee on account of its excessively violent realism, a largely Serbian audience flocked in thousands to admire the work.