Study (Mrs Royston) for Thermae Antoniniane, by Sir Laurence Alma Tadema OM RA, 1836-1912. Pencil on paper. Inscribed and dated "4 Sept 99"/ op / Study for Thermae Antoniniane / cp) / Mrs Royston. 6 x 10 1/4 inches, 15 x 26 centimetres
Tadema often used beautiful fashionable ladies of London for models. This is a study for The Baths of Caracalla (subtitled Thermae Antoniniane, 1899, Swanson 392, private collection). The oil was finished in April of 1899 and this drawing, which only approximates the figure in the painting, was drawn in September 1899. It seems that the painting was difficult to sell and perhaps Tadcma was seeking ways to change the composition.
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References
A Century of of Master Drawings, Watercolours, & Works in Egg Tempera. London: Peter Nahum, nd. Catalogue number 31. P. 74.
Last modified 10 September 2001