Viewing Room | Sardanapalus by Peter Saul

1 - 30 June 2023
  • Peter Saul. Sardanapalus, 2005, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 198 x 218,4 cm

    Peter Saul. Sardanapalus, 2005

    Acrylic and oil on canvas, 198 x 218,4 cm

  • "I'm not against history paintings, I just want to add my own flavor to it."

    — Peter Saul 

     

    'Sardanapalus', 2005 by Peter Saul is an appropriation and reinterpretation of a plot from 'The Death of Sardanapalus', 1827 by the French painter Eugène Delacroix.

     

    The legend says that the Assyrian king Sardanapalus was the last of the line of 30 kings of Assyria. He surpassed all his predecessors in his dissolute living, which led to the fall of the whole empire. Failing to quell the rebellions, Sardanapalus resolves to end his life and consign to fire all his servants and the royal treasures.

  • Delacroix's painting was first exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1827–28 and immediately provoked a strong public resonance. It was...

    'The Death of Sardanapalus', 1827 by Eugène Delacroix. © Musée du Louvre, Paris

    Delacroix's painting was first exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1827–28 and immediately provoked a strong public resonance. It was criticized for artist's use of perspective and for the chaos that prevailed in the foreground. Some critics called it a "bad painting" and a symbol of "fanatical arrogance." The work would later be recognized as one of the major innovations for figurative painting, to become a permanent exhibit in the Louvre collection.

     

    In his innovative work, Dalacroix succeeded to simultaneously shock and captivate the viewer. Peter Saul later expanded this idea to its limits, turning the 'bad painting' into the quintessence of his iconic style. In Saul's work, the distorted perspective dramatically transforms the anatomy, the acidic, psychedelic colors and the chaotic composition create a vibrant drama and an incessant dialogue with the viewer.

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    Peter Saul. 'Sardanapalus', 2005 (detail) (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Peter Saul. 'Sardanapalus', 2005 (detail) (View more details about this item in a popup).
    Peter Saul. 'Sardanapalus', 2005 (View more details about this item in a popup).

    Peter Saul. 'Sardanapalus', 2005 (detail)

  • 'Sardanapalus' painting is one of Saul's iconic works included to the artist's major retrospective at the New Museum, New York in 2020. Marking the artist’s first New York museum survey, this exhibition bought together over sixty selected works from his distinguished career.

     

    In Saul's works, formal experiments never stray far from the social commentary. The references to historical painting in his works are clearly linked to an emotional response to specific day-to-day realities. The artist's charismatic caricature style is a commentary on the cultural values of the contemporary world, while his signature grotesque style has set the standard for the generation of contemporary painting.

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