Henri Gervex

Possibly, Miguel Utrillo (a gift from the artist)
Private collection, France
Sale: Millon & Associés, Paris, 30 March 2001, lot 57
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Henri Gervex, 1852-1929, exh. cat., Paris, 1992, p. 117, discussed

The canvas has not been lined. There is a fine stretcher mark, and some very fine scattered lines of hairline craquelure. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals a rather even layer of residual varnish and some minor, isolated spots of cosmetic retouching addressing old paint flaking; notably one small spot in the cityscape outside the window in the lower right quadrant, some small scattered spots in the upper edge and one minor spot in the man's cheek. A very fine line of retouching is also visible to the left of the man's head, possibly addressing an old repair (with a circa 3 by 3cm patch on the reverse). This work presents well, is overall in good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a black frame with a gilt inner slip. There are two fine white lines along the right and lower framing edges respectively which appear to be by the artist, and are not visible in the catalogue illustration.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work is a study for the figure of Jacques Rolla in Gervex' eponymous succès de scandale of 1878 (Musée d'Orsay, Paris). Gervex scrupulously prepared for the final composition with numerous closely-observed studies, including of the nude (for which Ellen André, a favourite of the Impressionists, was one of the models), and the Louis XVI bed. While the other known studies were mostly executed on paper, the present work is a signed oil on canvas and a compelling work in its own right, as well as a fascinating component in the genesis of the artist's most famous composition. 

Several details set the study apart from the figure of Rolla in the finished composition. Rather than being covered below the waist by the bed, the model (Gervex' own brother) is presented three-quarter length. The window has six panes instead of three, there is a simple wood bar across the open window rather than the elaborate ironwork of the final work, and there are differences in the background architecture. In these ways the setting is probably closer to Gervex's own apartment-studio, situated on the rue Bochart-de-Saron near Pigalle, than the newer Haussmannian architecture of the Grands Boulevards in the final work.

Taking as his inspiration the eponymous poem of 1833 by Alfred de Musset, Gervex transposed the narrative of Rolla into fashionable contemporary Paris. Jacques Rolla, a well-born bourgeois, has decided to spend his final night with the prostitute Marion, having squandered his fortune on a life of debauchery. The scene depicts the morning after: while Marion lies asleep, Rolla broods on his fate and contemplates suicide by jumping from the open window.

Already a friend of Degas, and part of the artists’ circle in Pigalle, in 1876 Gervex met Manet for the first time, and was painted by Renoir as one of the dancers in his Bal du moulin de la Galette. It is significant that Rolla’s scandal in 1878 echoed that of Manet’s Nana of the previous year, which had also been refused by the Paris Salon on ground of immorality. Like Gervex', Manet's work was instead displayed by a gallerist to public uproar. Both paintings find their literary equivalent in Emile Zola’s Nana, published in 1880.

A replica of the final composition was sold in these rooms for a new artist record in May 2016 (fig. 1).