- 121
Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix
- A Lion Hunt
- Black chalk;
numbered, verso: Inv 833
Provenance
The artist's studio stamp (L.838a);
with Arturo Cuellar, Zurich;
Charles Ryskamp, New York,
his sale, New York, Sotheby's, 25 January 2011, lot 92
with Arturo Cuellar, Zurich;
Charles Ryskamp, New York,
his sale, New York, Sotheby's, 25 January 2011, lot 92
Exhibited
New Haven, Yale Center for British Art, Varieties of Romantic Experience. British, Danish, Dutch, French and German Drawings from the Collection of Charles Ryskamp, 2010, no. 200
Condition
This work is in generally good condition aside from a repaired hard crease 1 5/8 inches long in the lower left, four well-repaired corners and a 1/4 inch tear at the bottom center edge. The surface is slightly modulated from dirt and light.
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.
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
The lion hunt is a theme to which Delacroix returned time and again throughout his career. He drew inspiration both from the five-month trip he made to Morocco in 1832, and from the hunting scenes of Peter Paul Rubens, which he considered bravura exercises in color and movement.
The present work illustrates the fluidity and complexity of composition that Delacroix would have wrestled with in order to create the energy that this subject requires. The lion, seemingly in the ascendancy having unsaddled the Arab horseman, dominates the composition, however all is not quite as it first appears as another Arab, lying on the ground, has plunged his sword into the lion's side.
Although there is no direct connection between our drawing and any known painting by Delacroix, one only has to look at La chasse aux lions1 in Stockholm or Lion Hunt2 in Chicago to see how Delacroix may have interpreted the content of the present work in oil.
The present work illustrates the fluidity and complexity of composition that Delacroix would have wrestled with in order to create the energy that this subject requires. The lion, seemingly in the ascendancy having unsaddled the Arab horseman, dominates the composition, however all is not quite as it first appears as another Arab, lying on the ground, has plunged his sword into the lion's side.
Although there is no direct connection between our drawing and any known painting by Delacroix, one only has to look at La chasse aux lions1 in Stockholm or Lion Hunt2 in Chicago to see how Delacroix may have interpreted the content of the present work in oil.
1. Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, inv. no. NM 6350
2. Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, inv. no. 1922.404