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Nationalmuseum
Artist: Attributed to Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754–1829)
French painter
Work period: circa 1783-1829
Work location: Paris
Title: Sapho
Object type: Painting
Description: Sappho was an ancient Greek poet from the island of Lesbos, known amongst other things for her love poems dedicated to other women—hence the expression “lesbian love.” Naked figures are abundant in Neoclassical art, depicted with an emphasis on the contours of the body and the profile of the face that often has an erotic undertone. Sappho resembles pictures by Anne-Louis Girodet, and when Nationalmuseum bought the painting in 1919, experts believed Girodet was the artist. Now it is thought a lesser-known painter is the artist, possibly a foreigner educated in Paris around 1800.
Date: Unknown date
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Height: 42 cm (16.5 in). Width: 53 cm (20.9 in).
Framed: Height: 59 cm (23.2 in). Width: 51 cm (20.1 in). Depth: 6 cm (2.4 in).
SKU: 274330
