Jean-Léon Gérôme

Castle of Brain-le-Château

Overall the condition of the bronze is excellent. There is some minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age.
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Both the Entry into Jerusalem and the Flight into Egypt were created in 1897, the same year as paintings by Gérôme of the same subjects. The paintings and sculptures are closely related. In the painting of the Flight into Egypt the Virgin in the same pose and Bedouin costume crosses the desert, accompanied by an angel and with St Joseph a few paces behind. Both Gérôme's sculptures known by the French title Les Rameaux appear in his painting of the Entry into Jerusalem. The sculptural Christ on his donkey appears to the left of the canvas and is greeted at the city gates by St Mary Magdalen, both arms raised, a palm branch in her hand – a composition which was also worked in three dimensions by Gérôme.

Although the majority of Gérôme's sculptures date from the last part of his career, he began early on, by modelling plaster figures for use in composing his paintings. The two media seem to have had a symbiotic relationship in his oeuvre as he worked on sculptures from paintings and paintings from sculptures.

The late religious subjects of Gérôme stand in marked contrast to the more sensuous Orientalist nudes for which he was best known. However, the painter-sculptor employs the same careful attention to detail and finish with hints of Oriental interest still visible, for example in the carefully observed costume of the Virgin. Gérôme's collaboration with the Siot-Decauville foundry allowed him to explore his painter's fascination with colouration and surface. Siot-Decauville produced the artist's models in statuettes of the highest standard. The present casts, preserved in pristine original condition, are excellent examples of the subtle colouration and fine casting for which Gérôme chose the foundry. The Entry into Jerusalem is particularly rare.

RELATED LITERATURE
Ackerman, pp. 110-112, 280 and 322-323, cat. S. 40 B2