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Lord Byron on his Death Bed

This is a Flemish Masterpiece
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MASTERPIECE

When this painting went on display in 1826, enthusiastic comments appeared in L’Oracle, including a lyrical description of the light effects: ‘It is impossible to see anything more real than the light of this lamp shining on Lord Byron, he seems to see the flame flickering on these beautiful drapes, on this body so skilfully drawn. By contrast, the painter has placed the moon illuminating a beautiful landscape, a perfectly rendered effect; by combining these two opposing effects, he has achieved a harmony and a strength of colour that would be difficult to match’.

The same source mentions that Odevaere based his portrayal of the poet on a true-to-life drawing by an eyewitness. But was this really the case? Lord Byron died in wretched conditions after a long ordeal. High fever and blood-letting (very common at the time) proved fatal to him. Doctor Millingen’s autopsy report describes his body in less prosaic terms. So, the reality did not correspond at all with Odevaere’s idealized vision of Lord Byron’s death.

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Inscriptions
signatuur en plaats (links onderaan): J. ODEVAERE Bruxelles
opschrift ODE T[O] / NAPOLEON [BUONAPARTE]; THE BRIDE / OF ABYDOS; CHILDE / HAROLD; THE / CORSAIR; THE SIEGE / OF CORINTH; LA[RA]; THE / GIAOUR; LAM... OF TA...(?)
opschrift (rechts): EVEYOEPIA
Dimensions
geheel, hoogte: 166 cm
geheel, breedte: 234.5 cm
met lijst, hoogte: 182 cm
met lijst, breedte: 249.5 cm
met lijst, diepte: 10 cm
met lijst, gewicht: 33.2 kg
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Inventory number
0000.GRO0350.I
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Copyright
Musea Brugge is committed to making its data available as usable open data. Images of works of art which are not subject to copyright restrictions are therefore published under the Creative Commons Zero licence. These may be used freely.

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