Jean-Léon Gérôme

Eugène Lyon, Brussels (sale: Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 7 May 1903, lot 16)
Antonin Mercié (sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 18 December 1918, lot 13)
Yvonne Coty, Paris
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 28 February 1990, lot 29
Private collection (sale: Sotheby's, London, 14 June 2005, lot 104)
Purchased at the above sale

Fanny Field Hering, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, New York, 1892, p. 274, illustrated opposite p. 212
Albert Soubies, J.-L. Gérôme: souvenirs et notes, Paris, 1904, p. 9  
Gerald M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme with a Catalogue Raisonné, London, 1986, p. 262, no. 355, catalogued
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Monographie révisée, Catalogue raisonné mis à jour, Paris, 2000, p. 320, no. 355, catalogued; p. 321, illustrated

The following condition report has been prepared by Hamish Dewar Ltd., 13 and 14 Mason's Yard, St James', London, SW1Y 6BU: UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. The tacking and turnover edges are reinforced with a linen strip-lining. This is ensuring an even and stable structural support. Brown paper gum tape is covering the turnover edges. There is evidence of residual adhesive on the reverse of the canvas which suggests the painting has been delined in the past. Paint Surface The paint surface has an even varnish layer. There is an overall pattern of very fine lines of craquelure throughout the composition. These appear stable. There are intermittent stretcher-bar lines corresponding the central vertical stretcher member of a previous support. These also appear stable. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows very small scattered retouchings: 1) strengthening to the legs of the stool in the lower right of the composition and some further lines of retouching within and around the carpet to the right of this, 2) strengthening to Bethsabee's hair and a small spot of retouching on her left shoulder, 3) strengthening to the attendant's robes and the bathing bowl, and a horizontal line of retouching to the left of her, and 4) four small spots of retouching below the figure on the balcony and a small spot of retouching to the left of the flower bed in the lower left of the composition. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in very good and stable condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

'And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon' (II Samuel 11:2)

These evocative opening lines of the Old Testament story of David and Bathsheba have found expression in Western Art through the centuries. Blending the Biblical subject with a masterful exploration of light and the human form, Gérôme's interpretation of the story belongs to his most important works.

Compelling though the story is, Gérôme's interest lay not only in its dramatic narrative. Rather, it provided the perfect pretext for exploring the female form in natural light outside of the studio. The figure of Bathsheba, 'a marvel of plastic grace and delicate flesh-tints' (Hering, p. 274), is in essence like a bather from Gérôme's numerous interior bath scenes (fig. 1) transposed into plein air. The topography in the painting is left deliberately vague, the city of Jerusalem depicted as an imaginary, generic middle-eastern skyline. The real focus of the painting is the figure's contrapposto pose, the effect of the light on her delicate white skin, and the minutely observed fabrics draped over the stool and worn by Bathsheba's attendant. Bethsabée was in fact painted at Bougival in 1889 where Gérôme worked 'on the roof of his summer atelier, enabling him to pose his model in the open air and obtain wonderful atmospheric effects' (op cit).

Bathsheba was the wife of the Hittite Uriah, who served under Joab in King David's army. Uriah is away fighting a battle when David first spies Bathsheba from his palace. He sends messengers to find her. She goes to him, sleeps with him, and conceives his child. To conceal his sin, David recalls Uriah from battle, ostensibly to hear how the war is going, but actually to encourage him to sleep with his wife. Uriah renounces the opportunity out of conscience towards his fellow soldiers battling it out in the field, choosing instead to sleep before the gates of the king's palace. David now changes tack, instructing Joab to ensure Uriah fall on the battlefield, which he does. Bathsheba mourns her husband, then becomes David's wife, and duly bears him a son. However, Nathan prophesies that God will punish David for his sins and that his child will die. David fasts and does penance, but the child dies of illness. Having been punished, David and Bathsheba have another child, Solomon, the future king.

The preparatory oil sketch, compositionally similar to the finished version but without the shrubs and flowers, and measuring 60 by 98cm, was sold at Sotheby's New York on 24 May 1995, lot 95. In 1896, Gérôme modelled a sculpture on the Bathsheba in his painting. The life-size plaster version is now lost, known only from photographs (fig. 2). A polychrome plaster version (73cm in height) is in a French private collection, while a gilt bronze version 32 cm high is in the Cumner Art Gallery, Jacksonville, Florida.