Style of Eduardo Chicharro Agüera

Property of an Estate, France
Private Collector
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Lined. Under UV: Spots of inpainting scattered throughout painting, including: fine lines along upper and right framing edges, in the legs and collar of Buddha, and in the shawl and silhouette of standing nude at left; in head of figure playing flute in upper left, to hair of dancing woman in upper right, and to the left of the signature. With the aid of UV light the indistinct inscription in lower right appears to read Juan Vysokol (?).
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.

Painted between 1916 and 1921, The Temptation of Buddha is undoubtedly Spanish Realist Edurado Chicharro y Agüera's best-known and most celebrated painting.  Now hanging at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, the painting, gargantuan in size (114 by 144 in.; 290 by 366 cm), won the artist the highest medal of honor at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1922.

The Temptation of Buddha illustrates a passage in the biography of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), a story that has evolved over time and was compiled in an epic poem written by Ashvaghosha in the 2nd century. As envisioned by Chicharro, on the night that he achieves enlightenment, Gautama sits upright while meditating under a fig tree, later known as the Bodhi tree. His body is covered by a red blanket that exposes his hands in the vitarka mudra position, symbolizing the transmission of knowledge, and bare feet, as a symbol of poverty and charity. His sacred calm persists in the face of the daughters of Mara, charged with impersonating the temptations of earthly life. On the left side of the composition, desire is represented by the furtive embrace of two women, lust by the figure who is half panther, hiding beneath her is laziness, and to the far right, bowing to the him, are twin images of flattery

The Temptation of Buddha relates to Chicharro's inventive pastiche of Hindu-inspired and Thai decorative elements, conjuring an exoticist fever dream that enticed and captivated his contemporaries and continues to do so today.  Dated 1925, the association between the present work and Chicarro’s own has yet to be determined, an indistinct inscription suggests another hand, the artist’s biography still unknown.