Lot 1266 Dα

Lady Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema was the second wife of Lawrence Alma-Tadema. The couple met in December 1869 and it was love at first sight. Laura Theresa, at the time, was 17 and Lawrence 33. In 1870 Lawrence Alma-Tadema moved permanently to London and it is here that Laura Theresa became his pupil. After overcoming the initial resistance from her father, the couple married in July 1871. Although the marriage was childless Laura Theresa was the stepmother to the two children from Lawrence's first marriage.
Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema celebrated her first success in 1873 at the Paris Salon and five years later, also in Paris, at the International Exhibition where she was one of only two female English artists exhibited.
Her oeuvre includes, amongst other themes, domestic genre scenes in the style of the Dutch 17th century, pastel portraits and small Italian landscapes and classical subjects. The present work particularly evokes the scenes painted by Johannes Vermeer; not only in the depicted location but also through the presence of the open window and the quiet, almost contemplative atmosphere that radiates from the work. The painting, with its extremely gentle and delicate colouring, was awarded the gold prize at the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung in 1906.