- 64
Léon Bonnat
Description
- Léon Bonnat
- View of Jerusalem
- signed L. Bonnat (lower right) and inscribed Jérusalem. (upper left)
- oil on canvas
- 8 3/4 by 11 1/8 in.
- 22.2 by 28.3 cm
Provenance
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 1868-69, Bonnat accompanied Jean-Léon Gérôme (see lots 2, 4, 6, 7, 67) on an extended tour of Egypt and the Holy Land. They were joined by a group of artists and writers, including the expedition's photographer Albert Goupil, the son of Gérôme’s dealer Adolphe Goupil, who allegedly hired an extra camel to carry his equipment, and Willem de Famars-Testas, whose extensive diaries and sketches were later published. They left Marseille and sailed to Alexandria, then traveled to Cairo and Suez. From there to Sainte Catherine’s Monastery, on the Sinai, took them one month, and then they continued north, visiting Petra, Aqaba, the Negev desert, Judea and they reached Jerusalem on April 3, 1868. In his diaries, Famars-Testas notes that “the first glimpse of Jerusalem was gripping… the sun-illuminated city was silhouetted against a violet thundery light, whilst the outlying land lay under the shadow of clouds.” (translated from the quote, Album de voyage. Des artistes en expédition au pays du Levant, exh. cat., Paris, 1993, p. 156). Just as Goupil photographed the city, Bonnat has swiftly recorded this arresting landscape in paint, creating a moving impression of this important trip.