Jean-Léon Gérôme

Overall the condition of the bronze is excellent with dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The cold painted polychromy is worn in some areas, including to the green cloak.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Celebrating Napoleon's military victories as commander during his Egyptian campaign, Gérôme originally conceived this model in 1897, almost one hundred years after the actual events had taken place. The original version met with immediate critical acclaim when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1897, bearing testament to the fashion for the Egyptomania style at the time and underlining continuing French pride in the success of Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.

One contemporary Salon critic, the sculptor René de Saint-Marceaux, wrote that never before had Gérôme 'so brilliantly displayed, as a sculptor, his usual qualities of skilled, refined taste.' The original Salon version was bought by the French state for the Luxembourg and, unusually for a purchased unique work, was subsequently reproduced in three sizes by Siot-Decauville. The choice of foundry was doubtless governed by Gérôme's strong interest in polychromy in sculpture and Siot-Decauville's reputation for skillfully manipulating patinas. In the present bronze, the superb detailing of the model has been enhanced through the use of cold painted polychromy; note in particular the rich red-brown of the orientalising rug and the now largely faded emerald green of Napoleon's cloak.

RELATED LITERATURE
L. des Cars, D. de Font-Réaulx and É. Papet, The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904), ex. cat. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 2010, p. 157, no. 91; G. M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, London, 1986, p. 322, no. S.38