Hugues Merle

Sale: Sotheby's, New York, Mary 24, 1998, lot 140, illustrated
Acquired at the above sale

Lined. Under UV: Inpainting fluoresces at right and left edges and at spots across the bottom and in spots to address repairs above the mother's head and wood of the door at center right.
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.

Merle has long been associated with his friend and possible rival, William Bouguereau— they not only depicted similar subjects but also both employed a high finish and naturalistic technique. Merle was just two years older than Bouguereau, and their thematic and artistic correspondance begged comparison from critics and collectors alike. They were represented by Alphonse Goupil, the powerful dealer who also published photographs of his artists' work.  One such carte-album of the L’abandonnée is sold together with this lot.  Another similarity shared between Merle and Bouguereau is the practice of painting reductions of their popular subjects (the larger version of L'abandonné was sold in these rooms on October 24, 2006, lot 89). These compositions are a testament to Merle’s renown and demonstrate his uncanny ability to match a high degree of finish with emotional sensitivity. The crystal tear tumbling from the wide eye and untamed hair of the young mother clasping her baby who is blissfully unaware of her anguish, easily communicates the drama of the scene, the work’s title understood when spying the wedding party departing a church in the distance. While the unwed mother may seem a very modern subject, the theme had been explored by Merle’s contemporaries. Octave Tassaert’s L’abandonnée of 1852 (Musée Fabre, Montpelier) similarly depicts a pregnant woman ignored, as she faints in a church while a bride and groom go down the aisle.  In Tassaret’s composition a relevant social message is melded with a genre subject; in Merle’s interpretation, the psychological crisis is evocatively enhanced.