The Sorrows of the king (2021) Original Oil Painting by Nicolas Maureau

Three figures close enough to share the same sadness, David's lyre the only thing meant to lift it: The Sorrows of the King draws on the biblical scene of David playing for a grieving Saul, Jonathan, the king's son and David's closest friend, present beside them both.

Nicolas Maureau lets Saul's melancholy spread outward here rather than stay contained, infusing the two younger figures until all three seem to carry the same weight. The composition also echoes Manet's Déjeuner sur l'herbe, another scene of bodies gathered close with something unspoken running underneath.

Painted on a reused canvas, a trace of the previous composition stays visible under raking light, one more layer of memory folded quietly into the surface, unplanned but impossible to fully erase.

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 195 x 130 x 2.5cm (unframed) / 195 x 130cm (actual image size)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the back
• Style: Photorealistic
• Subject: People and portraits