Joan of Arc

French artist Jules Bastien-Lepage painted this monumental work in 1879, depicting the moment when Saints Michael, Margaret, and Catherine appear to Joan in her parents' garden. The teenage peasant stands barefoot, her toes clenched in the grass, caught between earthly chores and divine calling. Behind her, an overturned stool and spinning loom show the work she has abandoned.

Joan of Arc had gained new significance after France ceded part of Lorraine, Bastien-Lepage's native region, to Germany following the Franco-Prussian War. Critics at the 1880 Salon praised the pose and expression but found the ghostly saints at odds with the naturalistic style. Some called it "false naturalism." American collector Erwin Davis bought it for $4,000 in 1880; it resold for $23,700 in 1889. The canvas measures a massive 254 x 279 cm and hangs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.