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Student Artwork Guide

Absolution

Alfred Stevens

Name Class Date
Alfred Stevens, Absolution. Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Alfred Stevens artsdot.com/en/artists/alfred-stevens/
Artist’s dates
1823 – 1906
Movement
Realism Painting ordinary people and ordinary work exactly as they are, without making them prettier or grander.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Alfred Stevens died in 1906; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1976.

Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 25, 2026

Absolution — Alfred Stevens Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Absolution — Alfred Stevens

When might this have been painted?

  1. 1820
  2. 1830
  3. 1840
  4. 1850
  5. 1860
  6. 1870
  7. 1880
  8. 1890
  9. 1900

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 83 at death.

Shaded: the lifetime of Alfred Stevens (1823–1906) every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1860 Main working years: 1860–1888 Late works: from 1888

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

This record has no exact year on file — using the artist's lifetime and the work's style, what decade would you guess?

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: artsdot.com/en/art/similar/alfred-stevens-absolution-8DNVH3-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Espresso #39271e

    Catalogued palette

    • #39271E
    • #AC7429
    • #201716
    • #5C4124

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Earthy The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Espresso
    Intensity
    Monochromatic How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Serene How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Strong Color Unity How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Deep_shadow How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Subtle Color How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Alfred Stevens over the last twelve months — 7 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 64.3%
    2. 2 United States of America 14.3%
    3. 3 Singapore 7.1%
    4. 4 France 4.8%
    5. 5 Italy 4.8%
    6. 6 Germany 2.4%
    7. 7 Netherlands 2.4%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Alfred Stevens

    1. 1 The Present 6.7%
    2. 2 Pleasant Letter, 1860 4.4%
    3. 3 L_Inde A Paris Le Bibelot Exotique 4.4%
    4. 4 La Boule De Verre 4.4%
    5. 5 The Lady in Pink, 1867 4.4%
    6. 6 La Japonaise 4.4%
    7. 7 La Baronne de Bonhome 4.4%
    8. 8 The Love Letter 4.4%
    9. 9 What is called Vagrancy 4.4%
    10. 10 Visit to the Studio 2.2%
    11. 11 Young Woman in White Holding a Bouquet 2.2%
    12. 12 Autumn Flowers, 1867 2.2%
    13. 13 Mademoiselle de Clermont-Tonnerre, 1865 2.2%
    14. 14 Young woman with red umbrella on the beach 2.2%
    15. 15 Portrait of Mrs. Howe (nee Deering), 1900 2.2%
    16. 16 Reverie, 1854 2.2%
    17. 17 Ready for the Ball 2.2%
    18. 18 News from Afar 2.2%
    19. 19 Quai Aux Fleurs 2.2%
    20. — Absolution this painting 0.0%

    Together these works take 63.9% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 122 works by this artist, of which 35 were looked at at least once. This painting has not been looked at yet in that time — it closes the list without a rank. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 25, 2026

    Absolution — Alfred Stevens Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Alfred Stevens

    Born in Brussels, Belgium

    early life and training

    alfred émile léopold stevens, a renowned belgian painter, was born on may 11, 1823, in brussels. his family was deeply rooted in the visual arts, with his older brother joseph (1816–1892) and son léopold (1866–1935) being painters, while another brother arthur (1825–99) was an art dealer and critic.

    artistic career

    stevens began his artistic journey at the académie royale des beaux-arts in brussels, where he studied under the guidance of françois navez, a neo-classical painter. in 1843, he moved to paris, joining his brother joseph, and was admitted to the école des beaux-arts. although it is disputed whether he became a student of jean auguste dominique ingres, stevens' early work, such as the pardon or absolution (hermitage, st. petersburg), signed and dated 1849, showcases his mastery of conventional naturalistic style, influenced by 17th-century dutch genre painting.

    rise to prominence

    stevens' work was first publicly exhibited in 1851 at the brussels salon, earning him a third-class medal at the paris salon in 1853 and a second-class medal at the universal exposition in paris in 1855. his painting ce qu'on appelle le vagabondage (musée d'orsay, paris) caught the attention of napoleon iii, leading to a significant change in the treatment of the poor.

    notable works and legacy

    la dame en rose or woman in pink (musées royaux des beaux-arts de belgique, brussels), painted in 1866, exemplifies stevens' work during this period, combining a fashionably dressed woman with a detailed examination of japanese objects.

    stevens received the legion of honor (chevalier) from the french government in 1863 and was promoted to officer of the legion of honor in 1867.

    view more works by alfred stevens on AllPaintingsStore.com:

    alfred stevens | 122 artworks

    the french academic art movement

    explore more on AllPaintingsStore.com:

    rodolfo amoedo | brazilian painter, designer, and decorator

    alfred stevens: moonlit seascape (46 x 37 cm, academicism, oil)

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Absolution

    artsdot.com/en/art/download/alfred-stevens-absolution-8DNVH3-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Stevens, Alfred. Absolution. n.d., https://artsdot.com/en/art/alfred-stevens-absolution-8DNVH3-en/
    APA
    Stevens, Alfred (n.d.). Absolution [Painting]. https://artsdot.com/en/art/alfred-stevens-absolution-8DNVH3-en/
    Chicago
    Alfred Stevens. Absolution. n.d. https://artsdot.com/en/art/alfred-stevens-absolution-8DNVH3-en/
    Harvard
    Stevens, Alfred (n.d.) Absolution. Available at: https://artsdot.com/en/art/alfred-stevens-absolution-8DNVH3-en/

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 25, 2026

    Absolution — Alfred Stevens Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Absolution — Alfred Stevens

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. How many faces can you find? ____ (our catalogue counts 2 — do you agree?)
    4. Our catalogue files this work under: faith, compassion, nun. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    5. Look back at Pleasant Letter (1860), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: ArtsDot.com — accessed Sept. 25, 2026

    Absolution — Alfred Stevens Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    Is "Absolution" by Alfred Stevens in the public domain?

    "Absolution" by Alfred Stevens is in the public domain - its copyright has expired. This status governs how the image of the work may be reproduced.

    Where can I find artworks similar to "Absolution" by Alfred Stevens?

    Works similar to "Absolution" are listed on the artwork's Similars page.

    How does "Absolution" balance light and dark?

    "Absolution" by Alfred Stevens is recorded as deep_shadow, with a dark luminance.