Lot 77
  • 77

Ernest-Jean Delahaye

Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Ernest-Jean Delahaye
  • Mademoiselle Fifi
  • signed E. JEAN DELAHAYE (lower left)
  • oil on canvas
  • 55 1/8 by 71 3/4 in.
  • 140 by 182 cm

Exhibited

Paris, Salon, 1898, no. 599

Condition

Lined. Stable craquelure visible throughout composition. Under UV: Inpainting to address the craquelure. Additional areas of inpainting visible throughout the remainder of the composition and at edges to address frame abrasion. Some areas of inpainting are visible to the naked eye.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

As described on the frame plaque, this painting illustrates a pivotal moment in Guy de Maupassant’s short story, Mademoiselle Fifi (1822), set during the Franco Prussian War. A group of German officers lodged far away from the fighting in a chateau in Normandy have become exceedingly bored after days of drinking, gambling, and destroying paintings. Thus, the Captain—whose soldiers have nicknamed “Mademoiselle Fifi”—arranges for women to entertain his fellow comrades at a dinner party. After an evening of “Fifi” and his officers praising German military power and disparaging France and its women, Rachel rebukes him.  As he lifts his hand, she swiftly and fatally stabs “Mademoiselle Fifi” with a dessert knife without anyone noticing—the dramatic moment captured in the present work.  The story continues with her jumping out of a window and running to a nearby church where she rings its bell until the day of armistice, signaling her own victory over the Germans.