François-Pascal-Simon Gérard

Purchased by the present collectors circa 1974 as by David.

Canvas is relined. The painting is in overall nice and fresh condition and has retained its original paint surface. As is visible in the catalogue illustration, two vertical canvas seams run from the top to bottom at both sides of the composition. These seams are visible on the verso. The paint is lifting along a strip measuring approximately 4 inches which may reflect an old tear which has since been repaired on the verso. A small discolored retouching in the center right background is also visible to the naked eye. This retouching was probably made to repair an old tear which has since been repaired on the verso. Additional patches on the verso suggest other damages but there are barely detectable to the naked eye. The painting is in a carved gilt 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.
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.

The reappearance of the present, unpublished work at auction represents an exciting addition to the known oeuvre of Gérard. It is an unfinished study, apparently squared for transfer, for a large painting representing La Patrie en Danger painted by the artist on the commission of King Louis Philippe in 1832. The composition was ordered for the Salle de Sept Cheminées in the Louvre as a pendant to another grand painting of more recent history: the Lecture de la Déclaration des députeés proclamant le duc d'Orleans lieutenant géneral du royaume, 21 juillet 1830. The final painting, which is now in the deposits of Versailles, has not been shown for many years, and was left unfinished at the artist's death.  The composition is dated in a letter of the artist to 1835 (see M. Marrinan, Painting Politics for Louis-Phillippe, New Haven 1988, p. 236, note 179), and was engraved, even though incomplete, by Normand (see L'oeuvre gravée de François Gérard, Paris 1852, vol. II).

The particular episode depicted in the present canvas is "La Patrie en Danger [the Fatherland under Threat]." In the summer of 1792, the National Assembly, recognizing the danger of foreign invasion, proclaimed a national crisis, and called for volunteers for the Republican armies. The scene here, set before the Louvre, shows recruiters signing up young men to defend their country. Gérard, one of the most senior artists in France at the time and nearing the end of his life at the time he painted the present work in the mid 1830's, is depicting an event that he himself had probably witnessed some thirty years before. Interestingly, his conception and indeed many of the figures are reminiscent of his youthful works of the Revolutionary period. For example, the crest-helmeted figure of the solider also appears in his The People demanding the Deposition of Louis XVI on the 10th August 1792 for which he won first prize in 1794 in a competition sponsored by the National Assembly.  A drawing for that composition (private collection; a fully finished drawing is in the Louvre) is even squared in the same manner as the present study, and it seems that the approach to the present composition must have been very similar for Gérard, even if it dates from the very end of his career.

We are grateful to Philippe Bordes for first suggesting and to Alain Latreille for confirming the present painting to be a work by Gérard based on photographs. Dr. Latreille will be including the present work in his forthcoming monograph on the works of the artist.