Hémicycle (section 2)

French artist Paul Delaroche painted this monumental mural between 1836 and 1841 for the award theatre of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The complete work spans 27 meters and depicts 75 great artists from across centuries, gathered in an imaginary assembly.

Minister Adolphe Thiers commissioned the project in September 1836, with architect Félix Duban designing the hemicycle space. Delaroche worked with four students to complete the ambitious composition. At the center, three masters of antiquity sit enthroned: the architect Ictinus, painter Apelles, and sculptor Phidias. They represent the unity of the arts. Below them, a semi-nude figure of Fame leans forward to distribute laurel wreaths, symbolizing the prestigious Grand Prix de Rome that students at the school competed to win.

The mural draws from Raphael's School of Athens and Ingres' Apotheosis of Homer, placing painters, sculptors, and architects spanning five centuries in conversation. Idealized female figures representing muses lean against the marble balustrade, adding the only feminine element to this gathering of old masters. A fire in 1855 caused considerable damage to the original, though it remains visible at the school today.