- 72
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Description
- Jean-Léon Gérôme
- A Young Nymph Teased by Putti
- signed J. L. Gerome and dated 1851 (lower left); inscribed with the artist's initials on the reverse
- oil on canvas
- within a painted arch: 16 by 12 in.
- 40.6 by 30.5 cm
Provenance
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Literature
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
The following 🍰note by Gerald Ackerman was included in the catalogue for the February 9, 1999 (lot 9✤2) Sotheby's New York sale:
This painting is an important document in the development of the Néo-Grec school of which Gérôme w🌞as the dominating painter in the 1850s. In it, Gérôme has incorporated the subject-matter of Fragonard and♉ other Rococo artists into the mid-nineteenth century, and by doing so has laid out the future of his two fellow Néo-Grecs, Henri Pierre Picou and Ernest Jean Aubert, who continued to paint similar erotic scenes throughout their careers.
This composition is after a preparatory drawing by Gérôme that was sold at Christie's, New York, May 22, 1997, lot 73, entitled Venus playing with Putti by the Statue of Cupid (fig. 1). The drawing is lightly squared for tr🦹ansfer in black lead, and the figures are the same size as in the painting. There are differences between the preparatory drawing and the painting, the statue of Cupid and a decorated staff on the ground have been omitted in the oil, and the figure on the ground behind the legs of the main group is new. However, the central group of three figures is almost exactly the same as in the drawing.
Gérôme has signed his picture in italics, his practice in the fifties when signing oil sketches; his finished works were signed with Roman capitals. This painting may the♐n be a preliminary oil sketch for a larger version of the subject not yet recovered, or perhaps never painted.
Please note than in Gerald Ackerman's revised monograph, (Jean-Léon Gérôme, monographe révisée, Catalogue raisonné mis à jour, Paris, 2000, p. 218, no. 33.5, illustrated p. 219) this work is reattributed to Studio of Gerome. Although a French translation of the above catalogue note also appears in his 2000 monograph, Mr. Ackerman now adds that the present work may be an esquisse for a larger worඣk not yet discovered or perhaps never realized. He also fe🤪els that studio members may have been involved in the present work's execution as Mr. Ackerman considers the quality of the painting to be less than that of the drawing.