“Atala” is my favourite painting. It’s at the High Museum of Art here in Atlanta, but it’s listed as a Louvre piece, so I assume it’s on loan. It’s been at the High for years.
There was an article in the AJC yesterday about this piece, which is why I’m thinking about it this morning. The artist is Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, a French painter who began the Romantic movement. His style is very classical and precise and his use of light is amazing. He did many portraits – particularly of the Bonapartes.
The story of Atala is told in the novella by Chateaubriand called The Loves of Two Savages in the Desert. The trekearth.com site has a very good description of the work as well as the story behind it. It’s interesting to note that Chateaubriand is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature as well as a contemporary of Girodet. The portrait you’ll typically see of Chateaubriand was done by Girodet.
I should have been an art major…