Orpheus (Moreau Full)
1865 · Oil on canvas · Musée d'Orsay, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Gustave Moreau (1826–1898)
- Year
- 1865
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 154 × 99.5 cm
- Collection
- Musée d'Orsay, Paris
- Movement
- Symbolism
A young woman in a long embroidered dress stands in a rocky twilight landscape, gazing down at the head of Orpheus, which rests on his lyre in her hands; both faces have closed or lowered eyes. Musicians play on a crag at upper left, two tortoises crawl at lower right, and a golden evening sky opens over a distant river. In the myth the poet was torn apart by the Maenads, and the tortoise shell is said to have made the first lyre. Moreau showed the painting at the Salon of 1866 and it was bought that year. It now hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Muted olive, slate blue and a pale gold sky make a quiet, melancholy picture for a study, reading room or hallway. Hang it with Millais's Ophelia at 16×24 in a dark wood frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Symbolism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1865)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or dark wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Orpheus in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Orpheus painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
