In The Babylonian Marriage Market, how is the Influences and inspiration discussed?
Long notes that he was enduringly inspired by the works of John Phillip, who was Long's personal teacher and mentor. A popular and well respected English painter who, like Long depicted many images of Spanish life. The painting was inspired by a passage in the Histories by Herodotus, and the artist copied some of the images from Assyrian artefacts in the British Museum. The composition is also influenced by Victorian painting auctions. The Graphic notes Long's enduring inspiration borne from myth and events from ancient History, especially those described by Herodotus. Bohrer notes how Long, either consciously or unconsciously, incorporates the theme of vision and the gaze in The Babylonian Marriage Market, themes which are distinctly explored in early western depictions of Babylonian Life, this theme is highlighted in an annotation of the work making clear this theme of the gaze.Bohrer reports that artists practising at the time, such as Ford and Long, used Babylonian/Assyrian artefacts that were newly available to them not in order to recreate the strict Babylonian setting, but rather as imaginative inspiration. As the artists are noted to utilise the artefacts to embellish and create greater fictive detail in their imaginations of what Babylon could have been like. Bohrer's puts forward that the presence of the tiled nineteenth century styled floor, in The Dream of Sardanapalus (see above) is an example of this. Bohrer argues this as Ancient Assyrian/Babylonian architectural conventions and technology would have not allowed such a tiled floor to be designed or manufactured.The painting incorporated several designs known from ancient artifacts. The motif of a carved stone with handle, probably of Elamite origin, and found in a foundation deposit of the Sumerian king A'annepada (circa 2500 BCE), was reused in the decoration of the white platform at the center of the painting.
Elam artefacts painting British Museum Sumer Assyria A'annepada Babylonia Babylon John Phillip Herodotus auction