A letter written by the artist to william walters dated july 20, 1860 illuminates the subject of this painting. It shows a brother and sister resting before an old tomb. The brother is attempting to comfort his sibling by playing the violin, and she has fallen into a deep sleep, "oblivious of all grief, mental and physical. "
this composition exists in at least one other version, now preserved at the hermitage museum in st. Petersburg. A closely related reduced replica was given to the musées royaux des beaux-arts de belgique by a descendant of the artist. The melancholic subject's popularity is attested by its reproduction on a porcelain plaque manufactured by the royal porcelain factory, berlin. Date: circa 1852. Place of creation: Belgium. Dimensions: height: 57.2 cm (22.5 in); width: 43.3 cm (17 in); Framed height: 77.1 cm (30.3 in); width: 64.7 cm (25.5 in); depth: 7.6 cm (3 in). Medium: mahogany, oil on wood, panel. Collection: Walters Art Museum. Louis Gallait - Power of Music - Walters 37134
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