Heres some of the paintings I was thinking of...
linky
The "living" quality of the art is amazing!
Also One of my favourites by Gerome...{bad photo sadley...}
No one still living can paint like these men did .... sadley the Same as many other lost craft skills we admire on this forum including including jewellery & steel forging metal working skills.. {IMHO] { I realise not everyone agrees...}
Spiral