Genre
Dramatic
Drama is painting raised to the pitch of theatre: the decisive instant, the gesture frozen at its climax, light flung across the scene like a spotlight. The Baroque made it doctrine — a picture should seize you the way a stage does, mid-action, with the outcome still in doubt.
Key artists
Works
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The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus
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Mount Vesuvius at Midnight
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Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler
Coriolanus Taking Leave of his Family
Hunting Dogs with Dead Hare
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The Defense of Champigny
北宋/金 傳黃宗道 舊傳李贊華 獵鹿圖 卷|Stag Hunt
Sketch for "Reception of Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie by the Kabyle Leaders at Algiers on September 18, 1860"
Artillery
Alexander the Great Rescued from the River Cydnus
Egyptians Raising Water from the Nile
Copy after Rubens's "Wolf and Fox Hunt"
Lions and Tigers in Peony and Bamboo
The Arab Falconer
A Cavalryman
Hamlet and His Mother
An Eruption of Vesuvius
源氏物語絵巻 「澪標」|“Channel Markers” (Miotsukushi)
Untitled
Landing the Shore End of the Atlantic Cable
Forging the Shaft
The Return of Rip Van Winkle
Ravana addresses Sita in the garden of Lanka, from Chapters 53 and 54 of the Aranya Kanda (Book of the Forest) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey)
Kali and Devi Attack: Leaf from a Devi Mahatmya
The Quartette (Un quatuor)
Examining Antique Arms
Girdle of Ares
Untitled
猿を襲う鷲図|Eagle Attacking a Monkey
Ship in New York Harbor
Roundel with Killing of the Ox (December)
Scenes from the Life of King Nebuchadnezzar
Rue Eugène Moussoir at Moret: Winter
The Trial of Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc series: VI)
Seashore with Fishermen
Military Musicians Showing Nubian and Egyptian Styles
The National Academy Jury of 1907
A City on a Rock
Dramatic Scene with Monks in a Crypt
Scene from the Ramayana
A Storm off the Normandy Coast
The Court of the Princess
Arrival of the "Southern Barbarians"
Krishna as Kali worshipped by Radha (recto), from a Kalighat album
Abduction of Rukmini: Krishna Tied the Hands of Rukma, from a Bhagavata Purana
Krishna Quells the Serpent Kaliya, from a Bhagavata Purana![Rama and Lakshmana Fighting Ravana, from a Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations [of Vishnu]) series](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/rama-and-lakshmana-fighting-ravana-from-a-dashavatara-ten-in--44f1c99a2c65cc54-w320.webp)
Rama and Lakshmana Fighting Ravana, from a Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations [of Vishnu]) series
Krishna Fighting Vanasura's Sons: Scene from the Aniruddha Usha Section of Krishna Lila
Krishna sporting with the gopis in the Jumna River, from a Bhagavata Purana
Birth of Parshva to Queen Vama, from the Kalpa-sutra
Krishna Vanquishing Vanasura: Scene from the Aniruddha Usha Section of Krishna Lila
Rustam Takes Aim at Ashkabus, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings)
Las postrimerías de Fernando III el Santo
The British Fleet Forming a Line off Algiers
The Harbor
Pallas Athena and the Herdsman's Dogs
Lost: Souvenir of Auvergne
The Night Watch
Roundel with Sacrifice in the Temple
Alexander the Great Threatened by His Father
The Old Westover House
Country Tavern, Feasting
Both Members of This Club
Osprey and Weakfish
Advice to a Young Artist
The Choice of a Model
After the Storm
First Landing of Christopher Columbus
The Flag of Truce
Attack on Bunker's Hill, with the Burning of Charles Town
Flax Scutching Bee
Glass and Checkerboard
The Exhumation
Grizzly Bears Attacking Buffalo
El rey don Rodrigo arengando a los jefes de su ejército antes de dar la batalla del Guadalete
Landing and combat
Carlos III renuncia a la corona de Nápoles
Prince Don Carlos and the Duke of Alba
The Rape of Helen by Juan de la Corte
Armida en la batalla frente a los sarracenos
Pradyumna and Samvara fight with maces: Leaf from the "Large Basohli Bhagavata Purana"
Babur meeting with Sultan Ali Mirza at the Kohik River, from a Babur-nama (Memoirs of Babur)
Lovers Parting, Page from a Book of Fables
The Tired Gleaner
The prince sent back to the place of execution for the sixth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Megha-Nada (Indrajit, Son of Radha)
The young man of Baghdad reveals his true identity to the Hashimi, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Forty-eighth Night
Combat of a Greek and a Turk
The handmaiden appeals for justice and the prince is taken to the execution site for the fourth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The king of Bahilistan offers his daughter to the King of Kings, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night
People Fleeing from a Fire
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Kanhra Ragini
The deceitful wife ejects the procuress after blackening her face, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The lover of Hamnaz, who has been hanged from the gallows, bites off her nose when she kisses him, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fifth Night
Dragon and Tiger
Bijan killing the wild boars of Irman, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020) (verso)
Illustration of the Mahabharata
The creatures of the sea are asked by the king of the Ocean to take a message to the Brahman, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh Night
As punishment, the jester’s wife and the Zangi are thrown into fire and the emir’s wife and the mahout are trampled by an elephant, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), Twenty-second Night
Kali Enshrined (verso), from a Kalighat album
Leaf from a Kalighat album: The Goddess Kali (recto); Kali Standing on Shiva (verso)
Oeyama Engi
Habbaza meets Bashir under a tree, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fourth Night
Gajendra Moksha: The Salvation of the King of the Elephants
The Marriage of Pradyumna and Rukmavati, page from a Bhagavata Purana
The prince being taken away for execution on the false complaint of the handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Ghatotkacha and three demons in his company chase Bhagadatta, from Bhishma-parva (volume six) of a Razm-nama (Book of Wars) adapted from the Sanskrit Mahabharata and translated into Persian by Mir Ghiyath al-Din Ali Qazvini, known as Naqib Khan (Pers
The pious man’s son presents the slain dragon to the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night
A Storm Behind the Isle of Wight
The vizier dissuades the king of Bahilistan from executing the dervish who asks for his daughter’s hand in marriage, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night
Tiger Hunt of Ram Singh II
King Bhojaraja tries in vain to ascertain the whereabouts of the pearl from the four travelling companions, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twelfth Night
Heavenly King Virudhaka
The young man, who has magically taken on the appearance of Mansur the merchant, arrives at his home, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventeenth Night
Vishnu Battles Madhu and Kaitabha, from a Markandeya Purana
Raja Sansar Chand Attacking Kangra Fort
The handmaiden again appeals for justice and the prince is led to the place of execution for the third time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Lovers parting, page from a book of fables
The Brahman, unable to select from the four gifts of the king of the Ocean seeks the Raja’s advice, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh Night
Prince Amar Singh (1672–1710) Drives His Own Elephant
The third suitor, who is an archer, shoots the wicked fairy who has imprisoned Zuhra. He rides on a magic horse prepared by the second suitor and is led to the spot by the divining prowess of the first, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fo
Akbar supervising the capture of wild elephants at Malwa in 1564, painting 90 from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar) of Abu’l Fazl (Indian 1551–1602)
Prince Mathu Singh of Jatoli on a Blue Horse Riding to Udaipur
The daughter of the king of the jinns bows before the King of Kings who has just undergone the ordeal of passing through the boiling oil to emerge as a youth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night
Tarquinius Priscus Entering Rome
Mahrusa kills herself at the tomb of the king of Zabul, and her husband does likewise, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-sixth Night
Bijan killing the wild boars of Irman, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)
The princess discovers the dead bodies, with heads severed, of her husband and his Brahman friend, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fourth Night
The Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite
A page from a Punishment series: Punishment for murder
The prince’s ordeal continues, he is ordered away to be executed for the fifth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Maharaja Balwant Singh of Ratlam (r. 1825–57) in Procession with His Relatives and Courtiers
The Raja’s daughter, born with three breasts, accompanies her blind husband and his hunchback guide on a journey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-second Night
The magician disguised as a Brahman returns to claim his “daughter-in-law,” from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fifth Night
Kandala Dies on Hearing the News of Madhava’s Death, from a Madhavanala Kamakandala
Emperor Shah Jahan
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Hanuman Brings the Mountain of Healing Plants; Rama Extracts the Arrow from Lakshmana as Hanuman and a Bear Prepare to Treat Him (recto), from a Romance of Chandrabhanu and Lavanyavati of Upendra Bhanja (Indian, died 1740)
The third suitor strikes the devotee’s daughter and thus restores her to life, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twentieth Night
Devi Attacking a Demon
Rama and Lakshmana slay the demon giant Viradha, from Chapters 2 through 4 of the Aranya Kanda (Book of the Forest) of a Ramayana (Rama’s Journey)
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The deceitful wife assaults her erring husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Isfandiyar slays Arjasp, the king of Turan, from a Shah-nama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (Persian, about 934–1020)
Sleep
A House Burgled at Night
Khadgaroma, Son of Ravana
Lions and Tigers in Peony and Bamboo
Maharao Ram Singh II of Kota (r. 1828–66) Hunting Buffalo
Tiger Hunt of Raja Ram Singh II
Mukhtar throws his wife Maimuna into the pit, but she saves herself, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fifth Night
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The disguised Arab, substituting for Habbaza, is whipped by her husband for refusing a bowl of milk, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fourth Night
The Death of General Colbert
Operating on Guan Yu's Arm
Durga Slaying Mahisha
Cornelis Calkoen on his Way to his Audience with Sultan Ahmed III
The Company of Captain Dirck Jacobsz Rosecrans and Lieutenant Pauw
Cossack Camp, 1813
Neptune with a seahorse
The Murder of Patrona Halil and his Fellow Rebels
Judgement of Cambyses
El parque del Retiro con paseantes
Atlas and the Hesperides
Eneas, fugitivo con su familia
The Sack of Rome
Untitled
Storm at sea
De zitting van de rechtbank
Sketchbook: Souvenir of Naples
Japanese Drawing
Japanese Drawing
Triangular-shaped Tracery Light
De beeldenstormers
The Defense of Paris
Officers of the militia of departmetn XIX in Amsterdam under the command of Cornelis Bicker and Frederick van Banchem, ready to receive Maria de' Medici in 1638
A Dutch Bomber Bombing the Fort in the Center of the City of Jogyakarta
Untitled
Rijdende artillerie
Breaking of the Ice on the Karnemelksloot near Naarden, January 1814
Reclining Girl
Japanese Drawing
The Fury of Monk Raigō
Casting the dice for life or death
A Prince Riding an Elephant in Procession
The climbing of the Capitol with the gray horse of the newly elected pope
Schindung des Marsyas (?)
The Romans under Cerealis Defeat Claudius Civilis and the Batavians following betrayal from within
Riders Crossing the Desert
The Goddess Kurukulla
Exchange of Fire on the Vaartse Rijn near Jutphaas
Quatrefoil-shaped Tracery Light
Inspection of a Cavalry Regiment, perhaps by William of Hesse-Homburg
La prisión de Lanuza
Don Pelayo en Covadonga
Frequently asked questions
What is Dramatic?
Dramatic is a mood in painting. Drama is painting raised to the pitch of theatre: the decisive instant, the gesture frozen at its climax, light flung across the scene like a spotlight.
How many Dramatic works does Artifact World Gallery have?
Artifact World Gallery holds 5,435 public-domain Dramatic works, all free to view and download.
Who are the key Dramatic artists?
Key Dramatic artists in the collection include Gustave Courbet, Albert Bierstadt and Jean Léon Gérôme.