39 Works by Old Masters Artists Embedded with Helen of Troy, with Footnotes

Gustave Moreau (1826–1898)
Hélène à la porte Scée./ Helen at the Scaean Gate, c. 1880s
Oil on canvas
height: 72 cm (28.3 in); width: 100 cm (39.3 in)
Musée Gustave Moreau

Throughout his career, Gustave Moreau showed remarkable fidelity to the character of Hélène de Troie by devoting an exceptionally rich ensemble to her. Main rival of Salomé in the heart of the artist, the most beautiful woman of antiquity appeared in his work in 1852, then returned triumphantly in the company of Galatea on the occasion of the last Salon of the painter in 1880. More on this painting

Helen of Troy has inspired artistic and cultural works for nearly six centuries. The following works cover various media to include items of historic interest, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture. They represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalog…

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21 Works, September 23rd. is Suzanne Valadon ‘s day, her story, illustrated with footnotes #208

Suzanne Valadon (Marie-Clémentine Valadon), (1865, France – 1938, France)
Le Lancement du filet/ Throwing the net, c. 1914
Oil on canvas
201 x 301 cm
Georges Pompidou Center, Paris, France

Presented at the Salon des Indépendants in 1914, the monumental academic panel irritated avant-garde critics. Arthur Cravan, who in issue five of his episodic review Now, writes an angry criticism of the Salon, violently attacks Suzanne Valadon (“[she] knows the little recipes well, but simplifying is not making simple, old bitch!”). Sentenced for defamation, he replied fiercely in a supplement to his review: “Contrary to my assertion, Ms. Suzanne Valadon is a virtue”. Le Lancement du Filet is Valadon’s latest work dedicated to the male nude. Subsequently, she devoted herself especially to an iconography centered on the nudes of women and children. More on this painting

Suzanne Valadon (23 September 1865–7 April 1938) was a French painter and artists’ model. In 1894, Valadon became the first woman painter admitted to the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. She was also the mother of painter Maurice Utrillo…

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