Focus on Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil and explore the Versions.
Like some other artists, for example William Powell Frith, Scheffer got in the habit of repeating his most successful paintings in smaller versions later in life, as his more recent works became less successful, and his role as a court painter was lost after the French Revolution of 1848.
Scheffer first exhibited a painting of Paolo and Francesca at the Paris Salon in 1822. Although well received, it was overshadowed by The Barque of Dante, the first major painting by Eugène Delacroix, which was exhibited in the same room.  The current location of Scheffer's first painting of this subject is not known.
The prime version was painted in 1835 and measures 166.5 by 234 centimetres (65.6 by 92.1 in). Considered Scheffer's best version of the subject, it was acquired in 1835 by Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans, inherited in 1842 by his wife Hélène, duchesse d'Orléans, and sold in Paris in January 1853 to Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato. A heavily decorated frame, probably designed by Félicie de Fauveau, was added while it was in the Demidoff collection.  It was sold again in Paris in February 1870, bought by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, and inherited by his illegitimate son Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet. The work is now in the Wallace Collection in London.The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh has a second full-size version from 1851 which measures 172.7 by 240 cm (68.0 by 94.5 in), which it acquired in 2015. Another much smaller version from 1851 measuring 24.7 by 33.2 centimetres (9.7 by 13.1 in) hangs at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio.  It was acquired by the CMA in 1980, after passing through the hands of several collectors in London in the previous century.Another smaller version dated 1854, measuring 51.7 by 81.3 centimetres (20.4 by 32.0 in), is in the Hamburger Kunsthalle.  A third full-size version of 1855 is now in the Louvre in Paris; measuring 171 by 239 cm (67 by 94 in), it was acquired in 1900 from the estate of the artist's sister, Cornélia Scheffer.Various titles are used for the different versions of the painting:  Just Francesca da Rimini today at the Wallace Collection
The Ghosts/Shades/Shadows of Francesca de Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appear to Dante and Virgil by various sources, especially of the Hamburg and Paris versions.
Dante and Virgil Encountering the Shades of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta in the Underworld in Pittsburgh
Dante and Virgil Meeting the Shades of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo in Cleveland
Les ombres de Francesca da Rimini et de Paolo Malatesta apparaissent à Dante et à Virgile by the Louvre.
Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet Virgil Cleveland Museum of Art Wallace Collection Paris Salon French Revolution of 1848 Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford Dante Hélène, duchesse d'Orléans Pittsburgh The Barque of Dante Félicie de Fauveau Eugène Delacroix Francesca da Rimini Hamburger Kunsthalle Demidoff collection Louvre prime version Paolo Malatesta William Powell Frith London Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato Carnegie Museum of Art Dante and Virgil Cornélia Scheffer