Alexandre Antigna and The Lightning

'The Lightning' (1848) by Alexandre Antigna, Musée d'Orsay, Paris 

Edit 16.09.2025: Doing maintenance on this blog, I found that this date's original painting wasn't eligible for 26 February. I had posted the painting Interior of a Gothic Church by Flemish Baroque painter Pieter Neeffs I (the Elder), who was born in 1578 and died on 26 February 1660. Or so I said. Wikipedia doesn't give any exact dates for birth and death but I found them on Safran-Arts. Well, Safran-Arts doesn't exist anymore as a website who gives small biographies on artists so I couldn't check. I searched the internet but couldn’t find any reliable source that gives 26 February 1660 as the death date of Pieter Neefs the Elder. All the reliable sources state that his date of death is unknown, with the following consensus among scholars: that he was alive on 26 February 1656 (last reliable record) and dead before or by 1661 (because Cornelis de Bie refers to him in the past tense in 'Het Gulden Cabinet', published 1661) but the exact date of death remains unknown, and 26 February 1660 is not supported by known archival evidence. 

Therefore, I'm replacing the post Pieter Neeffs the Elder and Interior of a Gothic Church by another painting which ís eligible for 26 February: 'The Lightning', 1848, by French painter Alexandre Antigna, born on March 7, 1817, and died on February 26, 1878. He was a notable artist, initially painting religious scenes and portraits until 1845. After living in a poor quarter of Paris, he turned towards Realism and depicted contemporary social subjects, showing the suffering of the urban poor in his work. He was a regular participant in the prestigious Salon, the annual art exhibition in Paris, and received praise for his portrayals of the poor and for showing the human condition. In 1861, he received the Legion of Honour, the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit. Today's painting 'The Lightning' (L’Éclair) portrays a peasant family besieged by a menacing storm. Love the use of dramatic lighting!