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Gilbert Stuart (1755 - 1828)
Description
- Gilbert Stuart (1755 - 1828)
- An Unfinished Portrait of Jerome Bonaparte (1784-1860), Youngest Brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, first Consul of France
- oil on canvas
- 28¼ by 23½ inches
- Painted circa 1804
Provenance
to her daughter, Nancy Penn Smith Hannum;
to the present owner
Exhibited
Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Heritage: Five Baltimore Institutions Celebrate the American Bicentennial, April–June 1976, no. 65, p. 93.
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, Gilbert Stuart, October 2004–July 2005, no. 67, p. 249.
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.
Catalogue Note
In its unfinished state, Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte gives us a rare view into Stuart’s process. Among other insights, the portrait provides a sample of Stuart’s blocking method, his development of tone and color, and his construction of drapery. Bonaparte’s relatively refined face sharply contrasts the vague background, and presents a highly developed focal point for the portrait both formally and psychologically. As an unfinished work, the present lot cleverly exemplifies the volatility for which Stuart was well known. At the same time, it conveys the dramatic instability of its sitter, whose social standing was of epic proportion in both its rise and fall. Jérôme Bonaparte embodies the negotiation between artist and sitter at its extreme, and at the same time demonstrates the masterful Romanticism with which Stuart endowed his works, even in their earliest stages.
The Baltimore Historical Society currently is exhibiting, “A Woman of Two Worlds: Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and Her Quest for an Imperial Legacy.” The show explores Mrs. Bonaparte’s life with focus on the period after her marriage’s annulment by Napoleon, and her subsequent return to Baltimore. The exhibition will remain through June 9, 2014. 4
EXHIBITION
New York, M. Knoedler & Co., November–November 1936.
Baltimore, The Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Heritage: Five Baltimore Institutions Celebrate the American Bicentennial, April–June 1976, no. 65, p. 93.
New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Washington D.C., National Gallery of Art, Gilbert Stuart, October 2004–July 2005, no. 67, p. 249.
LITERATURE
Adams, John Quincy, and Allan Nevins. The Diary of John Quincy Adams, 1794-1845: American Political, Social, and Intellectual Life from Washington to Polk (New York: Longmans, Green and, 1928) p. 22.
Barratt, Carrie Rebora and Ellen G. Miles, Gilbert Stuart (New Haven: Yale UP and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004) pp. 248–251.
Boles, John B. Maryland Heritage: Five Baltimore Institutions Celebrate the American Bicentennial (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society et al., 1976) p. 93 [pictured, no. 65].
Calvert, Rosalie Stier, and Margaret Law Callcott. Mistress of Riversdale : The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795-1821 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1991) p. 62.
Didier, Eugene L. “The Baltimore Bonapartes,” Scribner’s Monthly X (May 1875), pp. 1—8.
Didier, Eugene Lemoine. The Life and Letters of Madame Bonaparte (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1879) pp. 39–40.
Knapp, Samuel Lorenzo, American Cultural History: 1607—1829: A Facsimile Reproduction of Lectures on American Literature, 1829 (Gainesville, Florida: Scholars’ Facsimiles & Reprints, 1961) p. 198.
Magnússon, Magnús, and Rosemary Goring. “Jérôme Bonaparte,” Cambridge Biographical Dictionary (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1990) p. 175.
Mason, George C. The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1879) pp. 144–146.
McCauley, Mary Carole. “Historical Society explores scandalous legacy of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte” Tribune Business News (Washington, June 8, 2013).
Mitchell, Sidney Alexander. “A Family Lawsuit: the Story of Elisabeth Patterson and Jérome Bonaparte” (New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1958), pp. 21–68.
Mount, Charles M. Gilbert Stuart: A Biography (New York: W.W. Norton, 1964), p. 282.
Park, Lawrence et al. Gilbert Stuart: an Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works (New York: W.E. Rudge, 1926) pp. 159–160 [pictured, no. 90].
Schom, Alan. Napoleon Bonaparte (New York: HarperCollins, 1997) pp. 384–388.
Whitley, William T. Gilbert Stuart (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1932) pp. 124–125.