Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix

Eugène Curvale (by circa 1880);
sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 11 March 1986, lot 125, purchased by the late owner

Zurich, Kunsthaus, Eugène Delacroix, Zeichnungen, Aquarelle, Graphik, 1987, no. 11, reproduced (as La Ballade écossaise);
New York, Jan Krugier Gallery; Geneva, Galerie Jan Krugier, Victor Hugo and The Romantic Vision, Drawings and Watercolors, 1990-91, no. 63, reproduced (as La Ballade écossaise, Tam O. Shanter);
Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, The Timeless Eye. Master Drawings from the Jan and Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski Collection, 1999, no. 97, reproduced;
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Miradas sin Tiempo. Dibujos, Pinturas y Esculturas de la Coleccion Jan y Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2000, no. 108, reproduced;
Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, La Passion du dessin. Collection Jan et Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2002, no. 96, reproduced

Linie, Licht und Schatten, Meisterzeichnungen und Skulpturen der Sammlung Jan und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, exh. cat., Berlin, 1999, p. 399, reproduced (as Die schottische Ballade)

The sheet has been laid down onto the mount. Apart from two minor small losses just above the horizon near the right edge, and faint traces of a possible old drop mark in the lower right part of the sky to the right of the horse, this work is overall in good and fresh condition. Presented framed and glazed, the extreme edges of the sheet just covered by the mat. For any questions regarding this lot please contact Richard Lowkes in the 19th Century European Paintings department on 020 7293 5477.
"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."

Probably executed circa 1826.

Although the present work was originally part of an album titled La Ballade écossaise and has formerly been known by that title, the figure's appearance is much more indicative of a link to the Greek War of Independence, a passionate subject for Delacroix epitomised in his early masterpiece The Massacre of Chios, of 1824. In particular the figure in the present work is similar to the mounted Greek warrior in A Turk Capitulating to a Greek (1856, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass.¹).

1.  L. Johnson, The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix, Oxford 1986, no. 323, reproduced