Circle of Jacques-Louis David

Maréchal Bugeaud, Château de Païssons;
Dr. Antoine Chautereau;
With Wildenstein & Co. by 1964, by whom sold circa 1965 to
the present owner.

San Francisco, M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Man, Glory, Jest, and Riddle.  A Survey of the Human Form through the Ages, November 10, 1964 - January 3, 1965.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting on canvas is unlined. The paint layer is stable and beautifully textured. Very faint cracking has developed but the canvas need not be lined. The paint layer itself is in similarly beautiful condition. It has been recently cleaned and there do not appear to have been any restorations applied to the surface. If the wonderful frame were to be restored properly, the painting should be hung as is and noted for its beautiful condition.
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.

This lyrical and lush painting has traditionally been attributed to François Pascal Simon, Baron Gérard, one of David's leading pupils and one of the principle painters in France in the early years of the 19^th Century.  It a depicts the Greek poetess Sappho (630/12- circa 570 BC), seated nude on a couch, and writing on her wax tablet in Greek the name of her lover, Phaon, and presumably the beginning of a poem or love note, as she looks up to the small statue of Eros at upper right for inspiration.  Unabashedly sensual, this picture is inscribed with Gérard's name on the reverse of the canvas in a hand which would appear to date to at least the mid-19^th Century, and is dated 1819.  Although clearly meant to represent Sappho, labels on the reverse of the painting also identify the subject of the painting as Mademoiselle George (born Marguerite-Josephine Wemmer), one of the leading actresses of the day, a mistress of both Napoleon and Alexander I of Russia.  Despite this wealth of information, however, the Sappho is painted in an entirely different manner than the documented works of Gérard of this period; it is more fluidly painted, with looser, more expressive brushstrokes.  The palette is also quite different, more chromatic and rich in hue, and more reminiscent of Baron Gros or one of Gérard's other contemporaries.   Although a number of names have been suggested as possibilities, an exact attribution for the present canvas has yet to be secured.

What does appear to be clear, however, is that the Sappho was most likely painted by one of the many talented students of Jacques-Louis David, the leading protagonist of French neoclassical painting.  The subject of Sappho, in fact, had been treated by a number of artists over the previous years, focusing on the legendary aspects of her life, as the historical figure of Sappho was then, and remains, shadowy at best.  As far back as the Salon of 1791 when Jean-Joseph Taillasson depicted the lovelorn poetess throwing herself off the cliffs at Leucadia because of Phaon's rejection; Gros himself painted a more famous moonlit version this event in 1801 (Bayeux, Musée Baron Gérard).  However, the most influential and important treatment of Sappho was that painted by David for Prince Nicolay Yusupov in 1809 (St. Petersburg, Hermitage).  Despite leaving France with almost no trace of the composition (David, in fact, wrote the Prince some years later asking that a "croquis" or rough sketch of the picture be made and sent back to him for his own records), the painting created a vogue for the subject of Sappho amongst his contemporaries and followers.   Louis Ducis, Martin Drolling, Antoine Ansiaux and Cornelis Cels were all recorded to have painted subjects from the life of Sappho, and the present painting must have been part of this revival in interest in the poetess's life.