Truth Coming Out of Her Well

Jean-Léon Gérôme

1896 · Oil on canvas · Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu, Moulins

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Truth Coming Out of Her Well

Pollice Verso

Pygmalion and Galatea

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

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About this work

Artist: Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)
Year: 1896
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 91 × 72 cm
Collection: Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu, Moulins
Movement: Academic

A naked woman climbs out of a stone well brandishing a whip, her mouth open in a cry, her hair flying; the full title is Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind. The image comes from a saying attributed to Democritus, that truth lies at the bottom of a well, and Gérôme painted the subject several times in the 1890s, at the height of the Dreyfus affair and his own campaign against photography and Impressionism, whose lies he thought Truth would avenge. This version, of 1896, was bought by the Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu in Moulins in 1909. A century later it found a second life online as the image reached for whenever a hard truth is being delivered, and it is now the most reproduced of all Gérôme's pictures.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A naked figure climbing from a well with a whip, in flesh tones and stone grey, a strange, striking painting for a study, office or hallway at 24×36 in black. Stone, charcoal or sage walls suit it; pair it with The Nightmare for the two most-quoted images in the catalogue.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Academic painting
Era: 19th century (1896)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: grand
Rooms: hallway or entryway, study or library, home office, living room, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind in the public domain?

Yes. Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind painted, and in what medium?

Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind dates from 1896 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 91 × 72 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Jean-Léon Gérôme's Truth Coming Out of Her Well — a naked woman climbing out of a stone well with a whip raised — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Gérôme: Academic Painting and The Orient, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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