The Women of Amphissa

Lawrence Alma-Tadema used his second wife, Laura Therese, who was a painter in her own right, as a model in many of his paintings; The Women of Amphissa is the most prominent example. Alma-Tadema met Laura when she was only seventeen years old, and he apparently fell in love with her at first sight. Although Alma-Tadema used the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War as a pretence to move to England, it is thought that he actually moved to London to be closer to Laura. Upon his arrival, he contracted with Laura for private art lessons and thereafter asked her to marry him. Although her father originally refused due to the age difference (she was 18; he was 34), both sides relented on the condition that the two got to know each other first. Apparently, the match was good, as the couple stayed married for the rest of their lives.