The artist in front of the preliminary maquette of the painting. In the
foreground, one can see the 6.5 X 10 ft. stretcher which was assembled with crossbar cradling to support the excessive weight. After the canvas was stretched onto the support, the painting was moved across the wall from left to right. The artist stood on a ladder to paint the upper parts and sat on the floor for the lower ones until the painting was finished some months later.