Paestum
1847-51
Jean-Léon Gérôme serves up a visual joke about the passage of time in this scene from southern Italy. A pristine, majestic Greek temple looms in the background, representing the height of human achievement, while a herd of grumpy water buffalo wallows in a muddy puddle right in front of it. Created during the artist's early travels, the piece shows that even serious Academic painters couldn't resist the charm of a messy, living landscape. Interestingly, Paestum is located in the Campania region, an area that is still world-famous today for raising these exact water buffalo to make authentic mozzarella cheese!
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