CHARLES GLEYRE | Ulysses and Nausicaa

Mr and Mrs Louis de Clercq (probably by 1858, together with its pendant Ruth et Booz. Louis de Clercq (1836 – 1901) was a politician, collector and archaeologist. In his collection was another picture by Gleyre, Venus Pandemos purchased in 1876); thence by descent to the present owner

Charles Clément, 'M. Gleyre, à propos du tableau Hercule aux pieds d'Omphale', in Etudes sur les Beaux-Arts en France, Paris, 1865, p. 217
Paul Mantz, 'Charles Gleyre', in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, XI, 1 March 1875, p. 410
Charles Clément, Etude biographique et critique, avec le catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre du maître, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Paris, 1878, pp. 263ff
Rudolph Heinrich Hofmeister, 'Das Leben des Kunstmalers Karl Gleyre, in Neujahrsblatt der Künstlergesellschaft, Zurich, 1879, p. 22
Eugène Rambert, 'Charles Gleyre. Etudes et souvenirs', in Mélanges, Lausanne, 1890, p. 328
William Hauptman, 'Charles Gleyre: Tradition and Innovation', in Charles Gleyre 1806-1874, exh. cat., Grey Art Gallery, New York, 1980, pp. 43ff
William Hauptman, Charles Gleyre 1806 - 1874, Zurich, 1996, vol. I, p. 206, cited, p. 207, no. 161, catalogued & illustrated; vol. II, p. 359, no. 631, catalogued & illustrated

The canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher which appears to be of the time. There is one small loss in the canvas in the left of the extreme lower framing edge, mostly covered by the frame. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some un-even areas of residual varnish, and a few, isolated spots of cosmetic retouching addressing paint flaking, including one minor spots in Ulysses's right arm and some dabs in the centre of the extreme right framing edge. Otherwise, this work presents very well, is in overall good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame with some losses and a nameplate.
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Painted circa 1853-54.

Leading one of the most important artist’s studios in mid-nineteenth century Paris, Gleyre was the tutor of an astonishing array of artists. In the work of certain pupils his ‘Néo-Grec’, academic influence is clear, such as Jean-Léon Gérôme and Edward John Poynter, while others are more unexpected. Claude Monet met Auguste Renoir while studying in Gleyre’s studio, and Alfred Sisley, Fréderic Bazille, and James McNeill Whistler all counted among his pupils. Successful in his lifetime, Gleyre’s work fell into relative obscurity but interest has returned in recent years, most recently with the 2016 exhibition Charles Gleyre: The Reformed Romantic at the Musée d’Orsay.

The present work depicts a scene from book VI of Homer’s Odyssey: after his shipwreck near Phaeacia, Ulysees is offered aid by Nausicaa (centre). Both the present work and Ruth and Boaz (Hauptman no. 612) are thought to have been commissioned by the same unknown patron. The unifying theme of the two works – welcome and hospitality being offered to visitors in a strange land – must have had personal resonance for Gleyre, who after being orphaned at the age of twelve, left his native Switzerland to be taken in by his uncle in Lyon. Sources respectively classical and biblical inspired Gleyre throughout his career, while the specific elements in the present work may also have been suggested to the artist by a print after John Flaxman RA. That composition depicts Nausicaa on her carriage, a water carrier, and Ulysses clothed (rather than naked, as he had been found by the shore) (fig. 1). The painting reflects the subtle and thoughtful manner with which Gleyre breathed new life into classical narratives, organising the elements into a sophisticated multi-figural group in a Mediterranean island setting. As ever, Gleyre’s compositions were underpinned by a close study of anatomy and drapery, with highly accomplished draughtsmanship lending the works the clarity of classical sculpture. Hauptman catalogues over twenty studies made in preparation for Ulysses and Nausicaa.

Ineligible for the Prix de Rome given his Swiss citizenship, Gleyre travelled to Italy in 1828, and fell under the spell of Michelangelo, producing his first painting in 1831. His wanderlust continued as in 1834 he journeyed from Rome to Sudan via Beirut in the company of the American philanthropist John Lowell Jnr. While Gleyre returned only in 1838, having endured an eye injury and sunstroke in the Nubian desert, Lowell did not survive the journey. Gleyre's experiences found expression in his most famous painting, Le Soir or Illusions perdues, shown to great acclaim at the 1843 Salon. A Romantic subject inspired by a vision Gleyre had by the banks of the Nile, the work was bought by the French state, and now hangs in the Louvre. A committed republican, Gleyre was against the rise of Louis-Napoléon. From 1849 he ceased to exhibit at the Paris Salon, and declined the Légion d’honneur.