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FRAMING INFORMATION
1st Art Gallery offers the option to receive your painting ready to hang or rolled in a tube.
Currently, for safety, we're able to ship framed paintings only up to a certain size. Once the maximum size is reached, the framing option is automatically disabled.
However, if you are interested in stretching or framing a painting larger than 24x36 inches (60x90 cm), please contact one of our customer success associates or let us know in your order notes. We will send you a catalog of our large framing styles and pricing options.
Unframed rolled canvas orders will arrive rolled inside a protective tube with an extra 1.5" white canvas on all sides so you can easily frame it locally.


The French painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau concluded the masterpiece entitled The Virgin of Consolation in 1875. This dramatic scene portrays a desperate mother being consoled by Virgin Mary over her dead child. The artist went through many deaths himself, losing four of his five children, as well as his first wife Nelly Monchablon, all due to health issues. It was during this year that Bouguereau and his partner lost their son Georges at the age of fifteen. It was the dense state of grief that leads the artist to complete The Virgin of Consolation and Pieta, two of his most iconic religious artworks.
With a formal academic background, Bouguereau was influenced by the past masters of the Renaissance, as well as the Greek culture that inspired them. At the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the artist learned by reproducing paintings of artists like Raphael, perfecting his realistic approach to oil painting. Bouguereau also observed dissected cadavers to understand the human anatomy in depth. Because of his almost hyperrealistic portrayals of classic themes – like mythological and biblical stories – with extremely idealized figures and atmospheres, the painter was featured in the prestigious Paris Salon during his whole career.
Centered on the canvas, Mary mother of Jesus sits on a golden decorated thrown while a woman falls on her knees and sobs upon her lap. The holy figure of Mary is represented with a bright perfectly round halo around her head, while she raises her hands and eyes to the heavens. There is a large cross engraved with green and orange gems on the backrest of the chair. The background also features golden arabesques, as well as blue and green floral patterns. The arms of the chair seem to be made of stone with floral details. She wears a dark red dress with gold embellishments on the wrists, and, like the sobbing woman, a dark fabric wrapped around her body.
As a woman who had already lost a child, Mary expresses the pain she feels by praying to Jesus for this woman and the soul of her dead son. The small child lies lifeless in the bottom right corner of the composition, laying over Mary’s robe which covers part of some words written on the steps in Latin. There are some white and pink flowers thrown on the floor beside him, almost the same shade of his cold body.
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Real Oil Paints, Real Brushes, Real Artists, Real Art. The Certificate of Authenticity which arrives with every painting provides an assurance and verifies the authenticity of the hand painted fine art reproduction you purchased. Each oil painting is created by hand using only the finest canvas and oil paints available.
Important Notes About Your Painting:
If you have any request to alter your reproduction of The Virgin of Consolation, you must email us after placing your order and we'll have an artist contact you. If you have another image of The Virgin of Consolation that you would like the artist to work from, please include it as an attachment. Otherwise, we will reproduce the above image for you exactly as it is.
- Ordered without a frame, it will be delivered in protective tube within 21-28 business days.
- When ordering the painting framed - allow additional 5-7 days for delivery. The painting will arrive ready to hang.
- Every painting is painted by an experienced artist.
- No printing or digital imaging techniques are used.
- 100% hand painted oil painting on artist grade canvas.
- Painting comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
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- Enjoy Free Express Shipping.
- Hand crafted means unique to every owner. Each canvas reproduction may vary slightly in brush details due to the nature of being hand painted, so no two paintings are the same.
- For those customers who appreciate quality and want to own an artist's work as it was meant to be enjoyed we are here for you.

Free shipping is included in the price of the painting. Once the painting is ready and dry enough to ship, we will roll it and ship it in a sturdy cardboard tube.
We always ship express via courier to ensure your order reaches you as soon as possible - normally within three business days. The total delivery time from the moment you place your order until the package is delivered to your door is normally between three to four weeks.

If, in the unlikely event you were dissatisfied with the painting after reviewing it in person, it can be returned for a full refund for up to 365 days after delivery.
When you receive the painting; you are free to return it for more revisions or else for a full refund minus our actual shipping cost -- which is, on average, $35 per painting.

1st Art Gallery provides a full warranty covering manufacturing and material defects for paintings purchased from our website. The warranty covers damage for normal use. Damage caused by incidents such as accidents or inappropriate use are not covered.
Depending on the degree of damage to the warranted painting, it will either be repaired or replaced. This warranty service is provided free of charge.
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