Guess the Artist (Detroit Institute of Arts) #8!

This painting took my breath away. To see it in person is entirely different than on a computer screen. The clearness, the feeling, their faces, the light coming through the cloth, the flowers on the floor, the drama, the pain all so palpable. I went back to this painting a few times and was blown away each time. So many stunning paintings, I would not have thought this to be a favorite, but it was hard to walk away from. I wanted to know more…

I have so many questions I could list them from here to eternity. Here’s a quick blip from DIA:

“In this painting, roses tumble to the floor when Evangeline discovers her lost love Gabriel, dying. The story is from a poem, well known when this painting was made, by American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Painter Samuel Richards challenged himself with this large, multifigure composition to impress patrons and advance his career.”

A N S W E R :

Evangeline Discovering her Affianced in the Hospital, between 1887 and 1889

Samuel G. Richards, American, 1853-1893

About this painting (from Detroit Institute of Arts):

In this painting, roses tumble to the floor when Evangeline discovers her lost love Gabriel, dying.

The story is from a poem, well known when this painting was made, by American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Painter Samuel Richards challenged himself with this large, multifigured composition to impress patrons and advance his career.

Oil on canvas

Unframed: 67 7/8 × 100 3/8 inches (172.4 × 255 cm)

Gift of Mr. Bela Hubbard

92.1
– via DIA.org (Detroit Institute of Arts)