Torquato Tasso and the Two Leonores

The painting takes up Goethe’s play "Torquato Tasso" about the eponymous 16th-century Italian poet and presents a scene not put forward by Goethe: The two aristocrats, Eleonore d’Este and Eleonore San Vitale, wistfully watch the poet engrossed in his work. Alongside the Romantic theme of yearning, the image is characteristic of the early Düsseldorf School of Painting for various reasons. The Southern scenery and the Renaissance garb can be attributed to the fact that Italy was the rage, and the stage-like composition to the interest in theatre and to staging ‘tableaux vivants’. A focus on literature and theatre is attested to in the strong wedding of the arts in the early days of the School. Moreover, the Leonoras (Sohn later depicted them in isolation) can be considered as examples of the representation of friendship or pairs of girls, which are characteristic of the School. In 1839, the much admired painting received due recognition in the Paris salon show. (Kathrin DuBois)