Théodore Chassériau

Damblat Collection (and sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 14, 1961, lot 8)
Sale: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 21, 1995, lot 5
Private Collection, New York
Stair Sainty Matthiesen Inc., New York

V. Chevillard, Un peintre romantique: Théodore Chassériau, Paris, 1893, no. 111
Léonce Bénédite, Théodore Chassériau: sa vie et son oeuvre, Paris, 1932, p. 286, p. 392, illustrated
Marc Sandoz, Théodore Chassériau 1819-1856: Catalogue raisonné des peintures et estampes, Paris, 1974, p. 314, no. 172, pl. CLI, p. 315, illustrated
Chassériau, un autre romantisme, exh. cat., Paris and New York, 2002, discussed under no. 184

Very good condition, on stable panel; under UV: no inpainting apparent.
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.

Despite studying under Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres in Paris, Chassériau would develop a vigorous, colorful, and highly personal style, more reminiscent of the exuberant Orientalist works of Eugène Delacroix than this neo-classical master (compare lot 143, also in this sale).  Chassériau's interest in the Middle East might owe itself to early friendships with Prosper Marilhat and Adrien Dauzats, who had both traveled to the region in the 1830s, to popular Orientalist prints, which Chassériau copied from 1828, or to a visit that the artist made to Marseilles in 1836, where he encountered a group of Kabyles (Berbers from Algeria), and which resulted in a series of energetic drawings.  In 1845, Chassériau was commissioned to paint a large equestrian portrait of the visiting Caliph of Constantine, Ali ben Ahmed (Musée National du Château de Versailles).  Their eventual friendship led the Arab ruler to invite Chassériau to visit him in Algeria.

During his short stay in Algeria from May to July 1846, Chassériau made many pencil and watercolor drawings of the 'invaluable treasures' that he found.  Like many nineteenth-century travelers, Chassériau believed that the Arab figures and landscapes he encountered were 'as they had been at the time of their earliest origins,' and his sketches are imbued with a sense of classicism, pious conviction, and, at the same time, exhilaration, that is absent from others', strictly documentary, ventures.  The feverish pace at which Chassériau tried to record these "brand-new" Algerian subjects is almost palpable: his sketchbooks are filled with the scribbled reminder "ne pas oublier" ("don't forget").  Indeed, one can almost imagine that the Arab scribe in the present work is a reflection of Chassériau himself in Algeria, intently putting pen to paper.

Obliged to finish a monumental mural decoration commissioned several years earlier, it was not until 1849 that Chassériau was able to focus on the Algerian subjects he had prepared so well for.  This small oil sketch, made four years after his journey, may derive from a sketch that Chassériau made in situ, at an Arab school in 1846 (fig. 1).  Absent in this more populated work, however, is the sense of intimacy, the sensual application of paint, and the hypnotic expression of this dignified Arab figure. Though the following comment was written by Chassériau of horses, it seems uncannily applicable here: "Don't forget that in shadow [their] eyes have brilliant bluish highlights, glistening but matte like glaucous reflections that sparkle; their black pupils shine in the dark, very beautiful, very fresh, very alive."

In Arabic, "talib" literally means one who seeks knowledge. There is a pen and ink variant of this same subject, signed and dated 1851, in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon.

In 2003, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held the first retrospective exhibition of Chassériau's work outside of France.