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Core Record |
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| Title | A Family from Ancient Times at Home | |
| Collection | Middlesbrough Museums & Galleries | |
| Artist | Salvini, Alfonso (Italian artist, 1836-1908) | |
| Date Earliest | about 1861 | |
| Date Latest | about 1890 | |
| Signed | yes | |
| Description | This painting shows a family from ancient times depicted inside their home. The artist has looked to the excavations of ancient cities such as Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the remains of ancient homes there, to inform his own picture. As with nineteenth-century works by other artists who have imagined similar scenes, emphasis is placed on the similarities between the Victorian present and the ancient past. In this particular work, the artist expresses an idea that families remain the same. The mother of the children is depicted gently chiding the little girl for making too much noise, while the girl's accomplice, a little boy, hides behind his mother to escape attention. Perhaps typically for Victorian and Roman times, the father is noticeably absent. | |
| Current Accession Number | A1003 | |
| Former Accession Number | M230(O) | |
| Inscription | front lr 'A. Salvini' | |
| Subject | everyday life (historical genre) | |
| Measurements | 99.0 x 138 cm.0 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Unknown | |
| Rights Owner | MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art | |
| Author | Dr Ruth Stewart | |