Lot 88
  • 88

Jean-Léon Gérôme

Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 GBP
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Description

  • Jean-Léon Gérôme
  • Fuite en egypte (the flight into egypt)
  • signed: JL. GEROME stamped: 839A with the SIOT DECAUVILLE FONDEUR PARIS pastille
  • bronze, silvered and tinted patina

Condition

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good. There is some wear to the surface consistent with age and handling, and some tarnishing to the silvered surface.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Gérôme discovered the medium of sculpture late in his career, completing his first sculptural group, The Gladiators, in 1878 at the age of 55. His sculptures tend to be characterised by an arresting and experimental approach towards colour, inspired by the polychromy of antique sculpture and driven by the realist desire to breath life into inanimate material. Many of his marbles were therefore painted, as in the marble version of Tanagra in the Musée d'Orsay, and his bronzes brought to life with the use of contrasting patinas, as in the present cast. 

The Flight into Egypt was created in 1897, the year that Gérôme finished a painting of the same subject. The painting and the sculpture 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. Gérôme's late religious subjects stand in marked contrast to the more sensuous Orientalist nudes for which he is best known. However, in the present bronze, the painter-sculptor employs the same careful attention to detail and finish with hints of Oriental interest, particularly in the carefully observed costume of the Virgin.