# The Sad Message [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [FENDI, Peter]() - Date: 1801-1850 - Technique: Oil on wood, 37 x 30 cmú ## Commentary The news of the death of the father of the family on the battlefield of the Wars of Liberation demanded true heroism from many women, as shown in this tragic scene. In the painting we see the tendency to psychological interpretation that was to become a feature of 19th-century art. The painting shows the dramatic moment when the wife learns her fate. This genre painting brought to a peak of intensity through psychological understanding. ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()