Jean-Léon Gérôme
La Danse pyrrhique
Property from the Najd Collection
Jean-Léon Gérôme
French
1824 - 1904
La Danse pyrrhique
signed J.L. GEROME lower right
oil on canvas
Unframed: 66 by 92cm., 26 by 36in.
Framed: 98 by 127cm., 38½ by 50in.
We are grateful to Dr Emily M. Weeks for her assistance in cataloguing this work which will be included in her revision of the artist's catalogue raisonné by Gerald M. Ackerman.
This work is in good overall condition and ready to hang.
Original canvas, which appears to have been de-lined in the past. There is a pattern of hairline craquelure. The paint surface appears to have been slightly thinned in places, and ultra-violet light reveals some relatively minor strokes of strengthening retouching notably in the architecture, the nearer sword-dancer, and some other minor strokes; some of the residual patches of old varnish also appear to fluoresce unevenly.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.
Ruth Clark Holmes Munsill (by 1941; by descent from the above)
Penelope Holmes Munsill Harris (by descent from the above)
Laurence van Doren Harris Jr. (by descent from the above)
Daniel B. Grossman, Inc., New York (sale: Sotheby's, Parke Bernet, 25 January 1980, lot 292, as La Phyrique)
Sale: Phillips, London, 30 October 1981
The Fine Art Society, London (by April 1984; stock no. E6 / 21)
Purchased from the above
Phoebe Pool, Impressionism, London, 1967, p. 92, fig. 65, described & illustrated (as Sword Dance), p. 274, catalogued (as present whereabouts unknown)
Peter A. Clayton, The Rediscovery of Ancient Egypt: Artists and Travellers in the Nineteenth Century, London, 1982, p. 178, illustrated (as Sword-Dance)
Gerald M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, Paris, 1986, p. 173, (as The Pyrrhic Dance), illustrated, pp. 290-91, no. 487, catalogued & illustrated (as The Pyrrhic Dance [Sword dance before Egyptian ruins]/La Danse pyrrhique)
Caroline Juler, Najd Collection of Orientalist Paintings, London, 1991, p. 141, described, p. 152, catalogued & illustrated
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme: His Life, His Work, Paris, 1997, p. 175 (as The Pyrrhic Dance)
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Monographie révisée, Paris, 2000, p. 180, illustrated, pp. 360-61, no. 487, catalogued & illustrated (as La Danse pyrrhique)