Orestes by Alexandre Cabanel (1846)Īs a history painter Cabanel had to study and draw life-sized figures from nature. At this time in his life, Raphael was Cabanel’s favourite artist of the past. Cabanel was a great lover of the works of Raphael and took the opportunity, whilst in Rome, to copy Raphael’s frescoes which adorned the Villa Farnesina in the Trastevere district of the city. Cabanel had already done this sort of thing before coming to Rome when he would copy works of art by Velazquez, and Titian which he saw at the Louvre. One of the requirements of the artists, who had been awarded the Prix de Rome scholarship to further their studies at the Villa Medici, was that they would submit work for examination annually and those artists who were history painters would also make copies of ancient sculptures and the Old Masters. Triumph of Galatea by Raphael (Villa Farnesina) (1514) He had admitted to his close friend Alfred Bruyas that he was lonely and just had his art as company.
For Cabanel, life in Rome was all about his art and very little to do with the outside distractions of the Eternal city.
I had reached the part in Alexandre Cabanel’s life story with him staying in the Villa Medici in Rome studying art, gifted to him as a reward for coming the “Second –First prize” winner in the Prix de Rome competition.
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