03 — ARTWORK
The Return of Marcus Sextus
GUÉRIN, Pierre-Narcisse · 1799 →
- MEDIUM
- Oil on canvas, 217 x 243 cm
- TYPE
- Historical
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 1205 × 1019 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
In this painting Guérin gave a theatrical depiction of a tragical historical (although invented) subject. Sextus, returned from exile, is seated in a stoical pose beside the deathbed of his wife. His fixed gaze reflects his inner questioning of the meaning of life. The scene is of heathen times, but it makes concealed use of the old Christian iconographyThe systematic study and identification of the subject-matter and symbolism of art works, as opposed to their style; the set of symbolic forms on which a given work is based. Originally, the study and identification of classical portraits. Renaissance art drew heavily on two iconographical traditions: Christianity, and ancient Greek and Roman art, thought and literature.. The cruciform in which the grieving man and the dead woman are so strikingly composed underlays the painting with an additional metaphorical significance, and the position of the daughter, who is clinging to her father's knee in pain, recalls the old Mary Magdalen motif in Christian art.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r6b4943833f2d7b,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {The Return of Marcus Sextus by GUÉRIN, Pierre-Narcisse},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/gurin-pierre-narcisse-raa24d8fc66fafb/the-return-of-marcus-sextus-r6b4943833f2d7b},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
