The Truth (Lefebvre)
| The Truth | |
|---|---|
| French: La Vérité | |
| Artist | Jules Joseph Lefebvre |
| Year | 1870 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 264 cm × 112 cm (104 in × 44 in) |
| Location | Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
The Truth is an 1870 oil-on-canvas painting by the French painter Jules Joseph Lefebvre. It is on display in the Musée d'Orsay, in Paris, since 1982.[1]
The Truth was exhibited during the 1870 Salon and was bought by the French state in 1871.
Description
The painting depicts a naked woman standing in what appears to be a dark cave, facing the viewers. Her right hand extends above her head, holding a shining golden mirror, and her left holds onto a rope that continues into the dark above her. Her right leg is bent, shifting weight onto her left hip in a contrapposto pose, and as if she may be walking towards the viewers. A fallen bucket can be seen behind some plants near her right leg, and a body of water behind her. These, the background, and the rope she holds onto allude to that she may be in a well.[2]
Background and influence
Lefebvre's Truth appears to be the first instance of a motif of Truth personified as a nude woman holding a mirror in or emerging from a well, imagery which would also be used by other French artists in the late nineteenth century, most notably several works by Jean-Léon Gérôme (see Truth Coming Out of Her Well). It is seemingly derived from an aphorism by the Ancient Greek philosopher Democritus: "Of truth [aletheia] we know nothing, for truth is in a well."[2]
The model for the painting was the well-known French actress Sophie Croizette. Although her career was primarily in theater, Croizette also modeled for several artists, most notably including her brother-in-law Carolus-Duran's Equestrian Portrait of Mademoiselle Croizette.[3]
The painting is contemporary with the first small scale model made by Lefebvre's fellow-Frenchman Frédéric Bartholdi for what became the Statue of Liberty, striking a similar pose, though fully clothed.[4][2]
See also
- Aletheia
- Truth Coming Out of Her Well, a series of paintings with similar motifs
References
- ^ "La Vérité". musee-orsay.fr. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "Painting Truth: When did she emerge from a well?". The Eclectic Light Company. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ The Masterpieces of French Art Illustrated. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Gebbie & Co. 1883. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
- ^ "A One-Picture Painter". Evening News. No. 13, 776. New South Wales, Australia. 3 August 1911. p. 6. Retrieved 6 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
- Media related to La Vérité by Jules Joseph Lefebvre at Wikimedia Commons