Paul Artot

Sale: Hôtel Drouot, (Champin, Lombrail & Gautier, Enchien), Paris, October 25, 1987, lot 63
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Lined, two minor vertical abrasions to the left of the male figure’s foot; under UV: dots and dashes of inpainting through the wing and female figure’s torso; old varnish fluoresces green and reveals selective cleaning of the male figure’s neck and shoulder and upper leg.
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.

Like many artists active in the late nineteenth century, Artot was entranced by Symbolism.  His interest in the exotic was likely inspired by Jean-François Portaels, his teacher at Brussels' Académie des Beaux-Arts and one of the first Belgian artists to paint Orientalist subjects from first-hand travel experience. Later, after his own travels in Italy, Artot became a member of the Cercle pour L'art and exhibited at Paris' Salon Rose + Croix events organized by Joséphin Péladan from 1892-1897.  Péladan revived the mystical tradition of the Middle Ages and condemned naturalism in all manifestations. The present work follows Péladan's dictate to destroy realism and to bring art closer to mysticism, myth and dreams: its poetic title; the dreamy suggestiveness of its pink-purple cloudy sky and background of swirling waters; the winged man drawing in his net to pull a maiden from the waters. Interestingly, in the same years as the present work's execution, Artot was a teacher at the Glasgow School of Art, where his antique, preparatory life, and live animal drawing classes were credited for producing a generation of skilled artists.