Jean-Léon Gérôme

Sale: Sothebys, New York, 28 February 1990, lot 34
Borghi & Co., New York
Purchased from the above by the present owner in 1991

Paris, Cercle de L'Union artistique, 1895

Gerald M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme with a Catalogue Raisonné, Paris-Courbevoie, 2000, p. 344, no. 437.2, p. 345, illustrated 

The canvas has been relined. There are sporadic spots of retouching overall (visible under ultraviolet light) notably along the right edge, in the lower right and left corners and corresponding to the stretcher bars. Apart from some craquelure notably in the upper left, this work is in good condition. Held in a decorative, striated, gold-painted moulded plaster and wood 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."

Painted circa 1895-1900, Gérôme's interpretation of the Scriptures is an impressive demonstration of his mastery of colour and complex compositional elements to create powerful emotive effects.

While the scene is not precisely described in the Bible, it derives from the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, in which 'mount Sinai was all together on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked gently... And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up' (Exodus 18, 20).  The blue-black, stormy atmosphere is intensified, the huddled forms of the frightened crowds are easily read, while the transfigured Moses, a brightly shining beacon against the clouds, is dramatically shown on top of the mountain with the Tablets of the Law. 

As was traditionally believed, as a result of Moses' encounter with God, his face shone in an uncanny way: 'And it came to pass, when Moses came down from the Sinai with the two tablets of testimony... the skin of his face shone' (Exodus 34:29).  While Gérôme clearly imbues the scene with a heightened imagination, it is informed by an understanding of the text and the holy site itself: the artist completed studies of Sinai on expeditions in the 1870s, and the particular characteristics of the mountain are well described.  As a whole, the descriptive nature of the work, in conjunction with the splendid massing of the crowds, the precision with which the figures are articulated, the sure handling of the highlights in the drapery and the effects of clouds and dust, are all splendid characteristics of Gérôme's late style.

The present work is a larger version of a painting en grisaille, which Gérôme executed for reproduction in photogravure.  Ultimately the illustration was bound along with ten similar works by Gérôme and other renowned artists of the period in La Bibbia nell'Arte, published in Bergamo in 1917. A preparatory study for the present work, measuring 29 by 45 inches, in colour but with a less detailed composition, is in a private collection.