“Joan of Arc”
This oil on canvas painting is by the French naturalist artist, Jules Bastien-Lepage, is titled “Joan of Arc,” and dates to 1879.
Jules Bastien-Lepage was an artist who worked in the mid to late nineteenth century. During this time, France had recently lost several provinces to Germany after the end of the Franco-Prussian war and the story of Joan of Arc was revitalized as it came to symbolize more current affairs. She was again seen as a symbol of France. With the revitalized national patriotism, many French artists were creating paintings of Joan of Arc.
This painting depicts the scene where Joan was first visited by angels when she was just 13 years old. According to the legend, during the Hundred Years War, Saint Catherine, Saint Margaret, and Saint Michael appeared to Joan while she works in her father’s garden and told her to drive the English out of France.
When this painting was displayed for the first time, one of the main critiques was that the apparitions visible were conflicting with his naturalism style. Overall, it was highly praised. For such a strong subject, this piece is quite lovely.
“Joan of Arc” is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
For more on Jules Bastien-Lepage, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
