Artwork
Milton dictating Paradise Lost
Milton dictating Paradise Lost is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Anton Von Bojanowski. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the National Library of Wales.
About this work
Overview
Anton von Bojanowski’s 1896 oil painting, *Milton dictating Paradise Lost*, portrays the poet John Milton engaged in the act of dictation. The work is part of the collection of the National Library of Wales and presents a domestic interior where Milton, seated in a red armchair, directs a scribe as she records his words.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures a moment of literary creation: Milton, dressed in dark clothing with a white collar, holds a quill and looks intently toward a woman seated at a table, who is transcribing his verses into a manuscript. Two additional female figures flank the scene, suggesting a collaborative environment of scholarship and the transmission of the poet’s epic.
Technique & Style
Bojanowski employs chiaroscuro to model the figures, allowing the lamplit foreground to emerge from a shadowed background. The contrast of the red chair against the dimly lit room adds depth, while the careful rendering of textures—fabric, paper, and wood—enhances the sense of quiet concentration within the scholarly setting.
History & Provenance
Completed in the late nineteenth century, the painting entered the holdings of the National Library of Wales, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the institution’s interest in visual representations of literary history, linking the library’s manuscript collections with a visual narrative of their creation.
Artist & collection
Artist
Anton Von Bojanowski carried a pocket watch he never wound—time stopped inside his paintings instead.
Milton dictant à ses filles son poème épique, « Le paradis perdu »
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