The painting Edgar Degas 1861 in Shamiram Building Babylon shows a mythical scene: Semiramis, the Queen of Assyria and the founder of Babylon, is standing in her infancy

Shamiram Building Babylon, Edgar Degas, 1861

The painting shows a mythical scene: Semiramis, queen of Assyria and founder of Babylon, is standing on the bank of the Euphrates River, contemplating the construction of a city that has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Some details in the work show that the Impressionist painter Degas did enough historical research for this purpose. The chariot on the far right and the queen's hairstyle appear to be iconic elements derived from the study of Assyrian reliefs that have just arrived at the Louvre. There are now several paintings from the Department of Graphic Arts at the Musee d'Orsay, proving Degas's preparation for this historical painting. In accordance with the neoclassical academic tradition, the figures were painted separately, first nude, and then costumed on the body, reminiscent of the techniques of the italian Renaissance masters. It was once thought that Degas drew inspiration from the theme of Rossini's opera, which premiered in Paris in July 1860. Paintings by Piero della Francesco, seen by Degas in Arezzo in the late 1850s, are more likely to have been affected by the past like the master's is key to preserving historical paintings. Indeed, Degas created several historical paintings between 1860 and 1865, including this one, some of which may have been inspired by Gustave Moreau, a close friend of the time. In exploring the relevance of this genre to contemporary painting, here he attempts to combine historical reconstructions derived from fragmentary copies with a plastic approach that absorbs the painting techniques he learned under the training of the French neoclassical painter Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. #艺术 #