Jean-Léon Gérôme
The Story of Anacreon (Four Works): Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm; Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm; Cupid Runs out the Door; The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire
Estimate:
250,000 - 350,000 USD
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme
The Story of Anacreon (Four Works): Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm; Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm; Cupid Runs out the Door; The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire
The Story of Anacreon (Four Works): Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm; Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm; Cupid Runs out the Door; The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire
Estimate:
250,000 - 350,000 USD
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Vesoul 1824 - 1904 Paris
The Story of Anacreon (Four Works): Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm; Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm; Cupid Runs out the Door; The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire
the first and second signed lower left: J.L. GEROME; the third signed lower left: JL GEROME; the fourth signed lower left: JL. GEROME
each: oil on canvas
each canvas: 23 5/8 by 32 in.; 60 by 81.5 cm.
each framed: 27 5/8 by 35 3/4 in.; 70.1 by 90.8 cm.
This catalogue note was written by Emily M. Weeks, Ph.D., and the works will be included in her revision of the Jean-Léon Gérôme catalogue raisonné, currently in progress.
The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes art Conservation, Inc.:
Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm
This work is unlined, but there are two reinforcements on the reverse addressing two structural damages in the center of the left side--one to the left end of the stone bench, and the other further towards the center of the painting on the wall. There are other restorations around these structural damages. There is a small horizontal retouching in the base of the tree trunk in the lower center. The right side of the picture shows no restorations. There are a few retouches on the upper left edge, but these do not enter the figure in the upper left. The restorations could be improved.
Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm
This work is in excellent condition. The canvas is unlined and well-stretched. The paint layer is stable. There are no signs of abrasion. The paint layer is dirty and would respond very well to cleaning. There are six retouches to paint losses in the floor in the shafts of sunlight in the lower right. There are a few spots in the upper right corner.
Cupid Runs Out the Door
This work is in excellent condition. The canvas is unlined. The surface is slightly wavy, with a vertical
stretcher mark in the center. There are no signs of abrasion. The work is dirty and would respond well
to cleaning. There are a few small retouches along the left side of the top edge. There are some pin-head
sized dots of flaking at the lower left corner.
The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire
This work is unlined. The canvas is slightly wavy across the top. There is a visible stretcher mark along
the left side. The paint layer is slightly dirty. There are no signs of abrasion. There is a 1-inch long
horizontal retouching at the top of the doorway on the right, and a small retouching in the butterfly vitrine
in the center.
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.
Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 11 May 1933, lot 76A (the first as l'Amour arrive); possibly, lot 76B (the third as Un intérieur grec); lot 76C (the second as Le méme intérieur); lot 76D (the fourth as Encore le méme intérieur);
Possibly, anonymous sale, Paris, 1945 (as cited in E. Bénézit, Dictionnaire Critique et Documentaire Peintres Sculpteurs, Paris, 1966 (as "four scenes in the life of Eros");
Private collection, Spain, since 1994;
Private collection, United States.
F. F. Hering, Gérôme: The Life and Works of Jean-Léon Gérôme, New York, 1892, p. 271;
Possibly, Michel, Le Journal, supplement, May 1899;
C. H. Stranahan, A History of French Painting from Its Earliest to Its Latest Practice, New York, 1899, p. 316 (cycle of 3);
Possibly, V. Guillemin, "Etude sur le peinture et sculpteur J. L. Gérôme," in Académie des Sciences, Belles-lettres & Arts de Besançon; Procès-Verbaux & Mémoires, Année 1904, Besançon, 1905-06, pp. 167-8;
Gerald M. Ackerman,"Three Drawings by Gérôme in the Yale Collection," in Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 1, 1976, pp. 14-17 (mentioned cycle of "three or four");
Musée de Vesoul, Gérôme: Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1824-1904; peintre, sculpteur et graveur, Vesoul, 1981, p. 84;
G. M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, Paris, 1986, p. 116, reproduced p. 126, (one of the four), p. 246, cat no. 288, 289, 290 & 291 (as Anacréon 1: Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm / Anacréon 1: L'Amour arrive, dated 1881-89 as lost; Anacréon 2: Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm, as lost; Anacréon 3: Cupid Runs out the Door / Anacréon 3: Cupidon s'enfuit, dated 1881-89; Anacréon 4: The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire / Anacréon 4: Le Poète rêve à Cupidon près du feu, dated 1881-89, as lost);
Possibly, J. E. Hargrove, The French Academy: Classicism and its Antagonists, Newark, Delaware, 1990, p. 174;
G. M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Monographie révisée, Paris, 2000, p. 117, reproduced p. 132, reproduced pp. 300-01, cat. no. 288, 289, 290 & 291 (as Anacréon 1: L'Amour arrive, dated 1882-89; Anacréon 2: L'Amour moillé, dated 1881-89; Anacréon 3: Cupidon s'enfuit, dated 1881-92; Anacréon 4: Le Poète rêve à Cupidon près du feu, dated 1881-89).
Paris, Salon, 1899, no. 860 (ex cat; the second work, and possibly more from the cycle being exhibited).