Jean-Léon Gérôme French, 1824-1904

Goupil & Cie. (by 1868)
Maurice Cottier, Paris (by 1872)
Claude de Bonnechose, née Cottier (by descent from the above)
Hubert de Luze, Paris (by 1993)

Oeuvres de J.-L. Gérôme, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, VII, 2
'La Collection Maurice Cottier', Gazette des Beaux-Arts, second series, vol. V, 1872, p. 395
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme. Monographie révisée. Catalogue raisonné mis à jour, Paris, 2000, pp. 350-351, no. 453, illustrated (titled Ane égyptien)

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. Jean Leon Germoe Ane Egyptien Oil on canvas Structural Condition The canvas is unlined and on the original stretcher. This is providing a stable and even structural support. Paint surface The paint surface has a discoloured varnish layer and would respond very well to cleaning. There are a number of tiny surface deposits which would be removed during the cleaning process and tiny pin-prick size abrasions just in from the right vertical framing edge. There is some minor rubbing on the lower horizontal framing edge. No retouchings are visible under ultra-violet light. Summary The painting is therefore in excellent condition with potential for considerable improvement should the painting be cleaned and revarnished.
"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."

Painted circa 1868.

In 1868 Gérôme asked for leave from his duties at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and embarked on a trip to the Middle East with pupil Paul Lenoir, Léon Bonnat, Albert Goupil, and the journalists Edmond About and Frédéric Masson. The group started from Marseilles on 9 January. After arriving in Alexandria, they went to Cairo. Paul Lenoir recounts how he and Gérôme visited mosque after mosque, sketching, studying, and taking photographs. In Cairo, Gérôme had an audience with the Governor of Egypt, who had received the title of Khedive of Egypt from the Sultan of Constantinople the year before. The ruler must have expressed an interest in Gérôme's work, for, upon returning to Paris, Gérôme sent him an album of photographs of his paintings. The friends spent a whole month in Cairo before hiring a caravan guide to take them further into Egypt.

Among the works inspired by Gérôme's sojourn in Cairo were a series of paintings of donkeys with their masters. Nubian donkeys had been bred and used in Egypt since ancient times and were an integral part of street life. Gérôme, like other western painters (see lot 116), would have been captivated by their striking white colouring and proud bearing compared to European breeds. Works such as the present one amply demonstrate his interest in, and skill at rendering, animals. Camels, horses, lions, tigers, and even domestic dogs are central to Gérôme's oeuvre, setting him apart as one of the most accomplished animalier painters of the nineteenth century.