Lot 18
  • 18

JEAN-LÉON GÉRÔME | After the Bath

Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Jean-Léon Gérôme
  • After the Bath
  • signed J.L.Gerome lower left
  • oil on canvas
  • 41 by 32.5cm.,16 by 12¾in.

Provenance

Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 30 October 1980, lot 88
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner


Literature

Gerald M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gerome with a Catalogue Raisonné, London, 1986, p. 266, catalogued, p. 267, no. 378, illustrated
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Monographie révisée, catalogue raisonné mis à jour, Paris, 2000, p. 328, catalogued, p. 329, no. 378, illustrated

Condition

The canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher which appears to be of the period. There is a fine pattern of hairline craquelure throughout, however not too distracting to the naked eye, including some stretcher marks corresponding to the four lateral and central stretcher members. A small accretion is also visible in the far lower right corner. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals an even layer of residual varnish and some isolated spots of retouching, including: - a 5 by 3cm area in the background in the upper right quadrant, also visible to the naked eye, addressing an old repair, as visible on the reverse; - one small spot in the background in the upper left quadrant; - pin-head sized spots in the left leg of the chair; and - some small spots of cosmetic retouching along the lower framing edge addressing paint flaking. Overall, this work is in good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame. Colours are less yellow in reality than in the catalogue illustration.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Catalogue Note

Painted circa 1889. Gérôme's depiction of a young woman in the hammam in the company of her attendant epitomises the bath scenes central to his work in the 1880s and 1890s, and which built on the success of his most celebrated bath scene, La Grande piscine à Bursa shown to great acclaim at the Paris Salon of 1885.

Gérôme had visited Bursa in modern-day Turkey in 1879, but already the genre of the Turkish bath was well established. Delacroix, Ingres, and Chassériau had received critical acclaim for their various nudes set in Turkish interiors. Ingres' famous rendition of this subject in 1862 is an exotic fantasy of voluptuous flesh and writhing bodies. In contrast, After the Bath seems devoid of lasciviousness, the figure seen in a quiet moment of solitude.