- 57
Gustave Doré
Description
- Gustave Doré
- Paolo and Francesca da Rimini
- signed lower left and lower right Gve Doré
- oil on canvas
- 279.4 by 194.3cm., 110 by 76½in.
Provenance
U.S. Art Import Company (1899-1927)
Sale: Manhattan Storage & Warehouse Co., New York, 9 September 1947, lot 21
Eugene Leone, New York
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 22 February 1989, lot 121
Exhibited
Paris, Salon de 1863, no. 598
London, The Doré Gallery, 1870-92
Paris, Cercle de la Librairie, Les Dessins, aquarelles et estampes de Gustave Doré exposés dans les Salons du Cercle de la Librairie, 1885
New York, Carnegie Music Hall, The Doré Collection, 1892
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, Illustrative Catalogue of the Doré Gallery, circa 1894
Literature
Francis Roubiliac Conder, Descriptive Catalogue of the Pictures by M. Gustave Doré on view at 35, New Bond Street, London, London, 1883, pp. 56-58, no. 26
Blanchard Jerrold, Life of Gustave Doré, London, 1891, pp. 241, 261 & 263-264, discussed; facing p. 263, illustrated
Louis Dézé, Gustave Doré: bibliographie et catalogue complet de l'oeuvre, Paris, 1930, p. 118
Stephanie Lieber, 'The Doré Riddle', New York Herald Tribune Sunday Magazine, 18 May 1947, p. 7, illustrated
Gustave Doré 1832-1883, Musée d'Art Moderne Strasbourg, 1983, exh. cat., pp. 52 & 85
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. 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."
Catalogue Note
Painted in 1863, the present work is inspired by the tragic story of the lovers Francesca da Rimini and Paolo, from the 'Inferno' in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, the most vital epic poem of Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. It '... illustrates one of the most touching episodes of [Dante's] famous poem. Dante and his guide are seen on the rocky point to the right. Below stretches the fiery gulf. The forms of the two lovers, whom death only the more closely united, float over the abyss. The expression of love and sorrow in the countenance of Francesca is of unrivalled pathos' (Conder, pp. 56-57).
Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini (also known as Francesca da Polenta) were star-crossed lovers and historical contemporaries of Dante. The Malatesta and Polenta families were at war, and to negotiate peace Francesca was offered in marriage to the Malatesta heir and brother of Paolo, Gianciotto. Knowing that Francesca would refuse the deformed Gianciotto, the wedding was performed by proxy through the handsome Paolo. Francesca and Paolo became lovers, were surprised together by Gianciotto and then stabbed to death. In Dante's 'Inferno', together with other tragic lovers of history, Paolo and Francesca are condemned to be forever swept along in a violent storm in the second circle of Hell, symbolising the power of lust to blow one about needlessly and aimlessly.
The present work was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1863, but had its most enthusiastic audience in England while exhibited at the Doré Gallery in London. Doré's biographer, Blanchard Jerrold, called Paolo and Francesca da Rimini '... perhaps [Doré]'s most perfect work', while the Examiner wrote that 'a more perfect embodiment of female beauty we have never beheld. It is a work of surpassing merit, and justifies the highest eulogisms it is in the power of language to bestow'. This theme was explored in several mediums by Doré: a drawing of this composition was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1861, which was the basis for plate 15 in his L'Enfer de Dante Alighieri of the same year. An engraving after the present work was made under Doré's direction by Francis Hall and sold from May 1871 by the Doré Gallery in London.