- 10
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Estimate
80,000 - 120,000 GBP
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Description
- Jean-Léon Gérôme
- The Grain Threshers, Egypt
- signed and dated J.L. Gerome / 1859 lower left
- oil on canvas
- 43 by 75cm., 17 by 29½in.
Provenance
Goupil & Cie, Paris (acquired from the artist)
Édouard Werlé, Reims (acquired from the above in 1859. Werlé, 1801-84, rose through the ranks of French champagne house Clicquot-Ponsardin and took full control of the house upon Mme Clicquot's death in 1866; he also had a political career, as mayor of Reims and a député of the corps législatif); thence by descent to the present owners
Édouard Werlé, Reims (acquired from the above in 1859. Werlé, 1801-84, rose through the ranks of French champagne house Clicquot-Ponsardin and took full control of the house upon Mme Clicquot's death in 1866; he also had a political career, as mayor of Reims and a député of the corps législatif); thence by descent to the present owners
Exhibited
Paris, Salon, 1861, no. 1252 (as Hache-paille égyptien)
Paris, Exposition Universelle, 1867 (lent by M. Wherle)
Paris, Exposition Universelle, 1867 (lent by M. Wherle)
Literature
Magazine Pittoresque, Paris, XXIXe année, 1861, p. 173 (a reversed engraving after the present work illustrated)
Gerald M. Ackerman, The life and work of Jean-Léon Gerome, London, 1986, pp. 206-07, catalogued and illustrated (as The Egyptian Grain-Cutter, lost); p. 56, described
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Monographie révisée, Catalogue raisonné, mis à jour, Paris, 2000, pp. 242-43, no. 117, catalogued and illustrated (as Un Hache-paille égyptien; lost, dimensions unknown); p. 53, described
The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme, (exh. cat.), Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid, 2010, p. 96, cited
Gerald M. Ackerman, The life and work of Jean-Léon Gerome, London, 1986, pp. 206-07, catalogued and illustrated (as The Egyptian Grain-Cutter, lost); p. 56, described
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Monographie révisée, Catalogue raisonné, mis à jour, Paris, 2000, pp. 242-43, no. 117, catalogued and illustrated (as Un Hache-paille égyptien; lost, dimensions unknown); p. 53, described
The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme, (exh. cat.), Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid, 2010, p. 96, cited
Condition
The canvas has an old relining. There is a pattern of slightly raised hairline craquelure overall, which appears to be entirely stable. Ultra-violet light reveals minimal signs of retouching: notably a few very thin strokes addressing craquelure in the sky, and a small spot of restoration in the sky in the upper right. The painting is in good condition, clean and ready to hang.
Presented in a decorative gilt frame.
"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."
"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
In the same family for over a century and unseen in public since the 1860s, the present work is a significant rediscovery, and a landmark work in Gérôme's Orientalist œuvre. According to Gerald Ackerman, such was Emperor Napoleon III's admiration for the present work that he attempted to purchase it through the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, but was unsuccessful.
Following his first trip to Egypt in 1856, Gérôme exhibited Orientalist subjects for the first time at the Paris Salon of 1857, winning praise notably from the critic Théophile Gautier. Exhibiting non-Orientalist subjects at the next Salon in 1859, in 1861 Gérôme exhibited six works - included notably the scandalous Phryné devant le tribunal - with the present work as the only Egyptian subject. Ackerman identifies these three Salons as the most important of the artist's career, at a time when Gérôme was at the height of his powers.
Referred to in the Bible, and named variously as a noreg or moreg, the ox-drawn machinery visible in the present work was used as a threshing instrument, and an alternative to the direct trampling of the cut grain by oxen which Gérôme also later painted in the 1860s. The classicising, frieze-like composition emphasises the pre-industrial, timeless aspect of the scene, as well as Gérôme's respectful curiosity for the routines and rhythms of Egyptian life.
Gérôme made his first of many trips to Egypt in 1856, with the sculptor and photographer Auguste Bartholdi in 1855-56, and on another trip in 1868, this time accompanied by his brother-in-law the photographer Albert Goupil and fellow painters Paul Lenoir, Léon Bonnat, and Willem de Famars Testas. He was therefore familiar with the people, land and local culture and continued to visit Egypt, as well as Turkey, Palestine and Algeria, numerous times throughout the remainder of his life.
The present work was engraved on several occasions, notably by Shinn-Strahan and Roujon.
Following his first trip to Egypt in 1856, Gérôme exhibited Orientalist subjects for the first time at the Paris Salon of 1857, winning praise notably from the critic Théophile Gautier. Exhibiting non-Orientalist subjects at the next Salon in 1859, in 1861 Gérôme exhibited six works - included notably the scandalous Phryné devant le tribunal - with the present work as the only Egyptian subject. Ackerman identifies these three Salons as the most important of the artist's career, at a time when Gérôme was at the height of his powers.
Referred to in the Bible, and named variously as a noreg or moreg, the ox-drawn machinery visible in the present work was used as a threshing instrument, and an alternative to the direct trampling of the cut grain by oxen which Gérôme also later painted in the 1860s. The classicising, frieze-like composition emphasises the pre-industrial, timeless aspect of the scene, as well as Gérôme's respectful curiosity for the routines and rhythms of Egyptian life.
Gérôme made his first of many trips to Egypt in 1856, with the sculptor and photographer Auguste Bartholdi in 1855-56, and on another trip in 1868, this time accompanied by his brother-in-law the photographer Albert Goupil and fellow painters Paul Lenoir, Léon Bonnat, and Willem de Famars Testas. He was therefore familiar with the people, land and local culture and continued to visit Egypt, as well as Turkey, Palestine and Algeria, numerous times throughout the remainder of his life.
The present work was engraved on several occasions, notably by Shinn-Strahan and Roujon.