Gustave Henri Colin (1828-1910)

oil on canvas

Private Collection, France

Telasco defends his fiancée Princess Amazili against the attaching Spaniards: There is craquelure throughout the entire work but the surface appears to be in stable condition. Under ultraviolet light there are a few very small areas of scattered inpainting throughout the background. Otherwise this painting appears to be in very good condition. A young Inca woman is offered to the Castillian Alonzo Molina for marriage: This painting has possibly been wax relined. Under ultraviolet light there appears to be a partially opaque varnish. there is evidence of scattered inpainting throughout the upper left corner as well as along the right edge and in the head and back of two of the figures on the right side. Otherwise in good condition.
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This pair of works illustrate two scenes from Jean-François Marmontel's (1723-1799) novel Les Incas ou la destruction de l'Empire du Pérou (The Incas or The Destruction of the Empire of Peru), published in Paris in 1777. Marmontel's work recounts three historic events—the destruction of the empires of Mexico and Peru, and the rampaging of Central America by the Spanish military. Based on historical accounts, Marmontel's novel strikes an interesting balance between secular and non-secular accounts from the period.

The first painting depicts the episode in which the Aztec prince, Telasco fights against Cortes' Spanish troops while trying to protect his fiancée, the Princess Amazili. The moment Colin captures is that of the lovers surrounded by the enemy and in a fit of desperation they contemplate ending their own lives. As Telasco draws an arrow from his quiver, Amazili grabs him and exclaims, "Stop! Stop! Begin with me; I defend myself with my hand, and I want to die by yours."

The second work presents the Inca mothers offering their daughters as potential brides to the Castilian Alonzo Molina. "Deign to consent, they tell him, to this young and sweet companion." Molina was the soldier charged with making a reconnaissance trip to the Inca territory with the purpose of forming a plan of attack. However, he was so moved by their "naive and tender friendship," that he resolved to remain at their sides.

As early as the 1820s, Colin had embarked on the project of creating illustrations to be published with Marmontel's book. Although these images were never completed, the themes explored in the book continued to fuel his interest. Indeed, the scenes depicted in these two paintings were also the subject of completed illustrations. However, based on their stylistic characteristics, the paintings seem to date from the 1840s.