Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Biography

 GRAVE LOCATION London: St. Paul"s Cathedral
 
  Educated at the Academy in Antwerp, where Louis de Taeye (1822-1890) and Henri Leys (1815-1869) were among his teachers. In 1863 he married Marie Pauline Gressin Dumoulin de Boisgirard and their honeymoon brought them to Florence, Rome, Napoli and Pompei. He had painted paintings with Egyptian motives before, but now he dedicated himself to Roman themes, usually portraying semi nude women with erotic radiations. BORN 8 Jan 1836, Dronrijp - DIED 2 When the Belgian art dealer Ernst Gambert saw Alma-Tadema paintings he commisioned no less than 44 paintings. When they were shown in England the paintings immediately became popular.

  Tragedy struck and both his only son (in 1865) and his wife (in 1869) died. Alma-Tadema moved to London where his star was rising and there he married his young pupil Laura Epps. Alma Tadema enjoyed his succes and they lived extravagantly at Townshend House in Tichfield Terrace, Regent"s Park. They had it redesigned to lool like a Pompeiian villa, but when a barge with gun powder exploded near the house on Regent"s Canal it was partially destroyed and soon after it"s rebuilding they moved to a larger house in St. John"s Wood that had formerly been occupied by his friend the painter Tissot, who had left England in 1882 after the death of his mistress Kathleen Newton. 

  Alma Tadema was a friend of the future king Edward VII, to whom he dedicated a series of pornographic works. In his last few years his work became less popular and he resigned from the Royal Academy committee.
  Laura died in 1909 and Alma-Tadema reserved a plot for himself beside her at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. However, when he suddenly died in Wiesbaden in 1912 he was so famous that he was buried in St. Paul"s Cathedral.