Shop / The Apparition

Exhibition poster

The Apparition

Gustave Moreau

1876 · Watercolour on paper · Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Size2:3 ratio

Will it fit? See it to scale above your sofa, bed or mantel

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Apparition

Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra

Jupiter and Semele

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

Choose different prints →

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

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: Gustave Moreau (1826–1898)
Year: 1876
Medium: Watercolour on paper
Original size: 106 × 72.2 cm
Collection: Musée d'Orsay, Paris (Cabinet des arts graphiques, Louvre)
Movement: Symbolism

Salome stands in a jewelled costume in the half-light of an ornate palace hall, one arm raised towards the severed head of John the Baptist, which hangs in the air inside a blazing halo, dripping blood. Herod and Herodias sit enthroned behind her, and the executioner waits at right with his sword. The colours are old gold, brown and ivory. Moreau showed this large watercolour at the Salon of 1876, where it caused a sensation, and sold it that May to the dealer Léon Gauchez for 8,000 francs. It belongs to the Musée d'Orsay and is kept in the Louvre's department of graphic arts.

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

Where it works

Old gold, ivory and one blazing halo on a shadowy palace ground suit a library, study or dining room with deep-coloured walls. It sits well near Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, hung at 24×36 in a black frame.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Symbolism painting
Era: 19th century (1876)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: grand
Rooms: dining room, study or library, living room, hallway or entryway
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 dark 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 The Apparition in the public domain?

Yes. Gustave Moreau (1826–1898) died more than 70 years ago and the work was made and first published more than 95 years ago, so the painting itself is public domain in the US and Europe. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Musée d'Orsay.

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 dark wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Apparition painted, and in what medium?

The Apparition dates from 1876 and was made in watercolour on paper; the original measures 106 × 72.2 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 The Apparition we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Gustave Moreau's The Apparition, 1876, shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Symbolism and Myth, 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 dark 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.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as