Chactas Meditating on Atala’s Tomb. After Chateaubriand’s Novel

Artist/Maker

DatesMade: Made 1826

Material / Technique

Dimensionsh x w: Mått 135,4 x 183,6 cm

Inventory numberNM 7427

AcqusitionPurchase 2017 Sophia Giesecke Fund

Other titlesTitle (sv): Chactas vid Atalas grav, efter Chateaubriands roman Title (en): Chactas Meditating on Atala’s Tomb. After Chateaubriand’s Novel Label (sv): Chactas vid Atalas grav Label (en): Chactas Meditating on Atala’s Tomb

DescriptionDescription: Rioult’s painting shows an episode from Chateaubriand’s novella Atala, 1801, where the young woman Atala tries to keep her virginity despite being keenly wooed by the Native American Chactas. As she has taken a vow of chastity, she cannot marry him. In the novella, two civilisations are pitted against each other, a conflict ending in Atala’s suicide. Rioult’s painting, exhibited at the 1827 Salon, depicts Chactas grieving at Atala’s grave.

Exhibited

Motif categoryReligion/Mythology

Collection

MaterialDuk, Oil paint

TechniquePainting

Object category

Keyword