Keywords: The Christian Martyrs Last Prayer.jpg Artwork Q18748901 Creator Jean-Léon Gérôme William T Walters commissioned this painting in 1863 but the artist did not deliver it until 20 years later In a letter to Walters Gérôme identified the setting as ancient Rome's racecourse the Circus Maximus He noted such details as the goal posts and the chariot tracks in the dirt The seating however more closely resembles that of the Colosseum Rome's amphitheater in which gladiatorial combats and other spectacles were held Similarly the hill in the background surmounted by a colossal statue and a temple is nearer in appearance to the Athenian Acropolis than it is to Rome's Palatine Hill The artist also commented on the religious fortitude of the victims who were about to suffer martyrdom either by being devoured by the wild beasts or by being smeared with pitch and set ablaze which also never took place in the Circus Maximus In this instance Gérôme whose paintings were usually admired for their sense of reality has subordinated historical accuracy to drama W M Brady Co New York in Drawings and Oil Sketches 1700-1900 27 January 2009 - 12 February 2009 No 21 offers Study for the 'Death of Caesar an oil on canvas with pen and ink underdrawing measuring size cm 19 5 33 which formerly belonged to Maurice Aiccardi Paris This sketch may be the one that Theophile Gautier alluded to during a visit to the artist's studio in 1858 G Ackerman Jean-Leon Gerome Monographie revisee 2000 pp 240-241 between 1863 1883 Oil canvas cm 87 9 150 1 ; size cm 139 7 202 25 17 15 Walters Art Museum http //art thewalters org/detail/36782 Walters Art Museum J L Gérôme object history William T Walters city Baltimore and received in 1883 from the artist Henry Walters city Baltimore Walters Art Museum Henry Walters exhibition history 1972/3 J L Gerome Dayton Art Institute Dayton<br>1976-1977 Romans and Barbarians Museum of Fine Arts Boston<br>1979 A Baltimorean in Paris George A Lucas 1860-1909 The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore<br>1983 Nineteenth Century French Salon Paintings from Southern Collections High Museum of Art Atlanta; Chrysler Museum of Art Norfolk; North Carolina Museum of Art Raleigh; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Sarasota <br>1999-2000 Vive la France French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore <br>2002-2004 A Magnificent Age Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum Baltimore The Walters Art Museum Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art Charlotte <br>2010-2011 The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid; J Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles; Musee D'Orsay Paris <br>2012 Public Property <br>2014-2016 From Rye to Raphael The Walters Story The Walters Art Museum Baltimore credit line ProvenanceEvent 1881 acquisition William T Walters accession number 37 113/ 36782 http //www artrenewal org/asp/database/image asp id 97 hires 1 artrenewal org Jean-Léon_Gérôme_-_The_Christian_Martyrs'_Last_Prayer_-_Walters_37113 jpg PD-art-100 DEFAULTSORT Gérôme Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer Paintings of animals by Jean-Léon Gérôme French paintings in the Walters Art Museum Ancient Rome in history paintings Colosseum Christian martyrs of the Roman era Damnatio ad bestias History paintings by Jean-Léon Gérôme Paintings of Christian prayers Paintings of lions People with lions in art Reconstruction drawings of ancient Roman buildings in Rome Colosseum Torches in art 1880s paintings from France 1883 oil on canvas paintings in the United States Pictures from the Art Renewal Center Uploads by Mattes from external sources Vive la France French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet |