The Apparition

About the Item: A stunningly dramatic and well-rendered oil on canvas painted by French artist Antoine Marie Roucole in 1884. With the ornate antique gilt plaster frame, and with its size, it has that "museum piece" look to it. While there was a lot of movement towards modernism at this time in France, this is a solidly Academic painting, even a bit Neo-Classical, evoking the earlier Jacques-Louis David. Appearing before a man and woman is the wraith of a stunning young woman with long red/blonde trusses (perhaps picking up on the then-current pre-Raphaelite trope?). Is this a lost lover, or sister? If you look carefully you can make out the wing of a black bird at the lower right, usually symbolic of death. A very large painting with a lot of wall-power. Comes in an ornate antique gilt plaster frame they simply don't make anymore, with a few repairs as usual (but as you can see, not distracting). Craquelure fairly typical for a painting this age, light stretcher bar marks and a couple of professional repairs/inpainting. But I would not have bought it if these issues were serious enough to detract from the impact of this painting. 41.5" x 52.5" with frame, 31" x 41" without.