Jean-Léon Gérôme

Stuart Pivar, New York

Gerald M. Ackerman, The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme with a Catalogue raisonné, London, 1986, p. 314, no. S.17, bronze gilt
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme. Monographie révisée. Catalogue raisonné mis à jour, Paris, 2000

The surface is original and has recently been cleaned, which has revealed areas of loss to the gilt patina, with several areas of silver show-through beneath, particularly on the figure. The gilt patina on the base is much more intact. Overall there are areas of light scratches, and minor areas of light pitting and discoloration due to age and atmospheric conditions. The figure, and the lower section including the pedestal she sits on, were separately cast and joined, the line along the join is visible, as are the circular pins, though this is as made and does not detract from the overall appeal. There are two very minor cracks to the handle of the axe, one of which forms part of the join. The sculpture she holds in her hand is loose but holding.
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.

In December 1870, archaeologists unearthed a group of Hellenistic terracotta funerary figurines bearing large traces of original polychrome at a site called Tanagra in Boetia, modern day Greece.  This discovery immediately caused a sensation, for it provided firm evidence supporting the theory that antique sculpture was painted.  In 1878, the “Tanagra Figures,” as they came to be known, were brought to Paris and exhibited at the Exposition Universelle, where they fascinated the French public, both due to their vividly-colored surfaces and also because of their connection to the lost works of the Attic sculptor, Praxiteles. The cultural impact of the discovery at Tanagra is evidenced by the countless forgeries that flooded the art market, as well as in the many references to the figures in late nineteenth- and early twentieth century literature, from Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband to Marcel Proust's The Way by Swann's.

From early in his career, Jean-Léon Gérôme demonstrated a profound interest in the Classical world. The lure of the antique had manifested itself in his first painting to be exhibited at the Salon, Le combat de coqs (1846, see lot 4), as well as in later successes including Pollice Verso (1872, Phoenix Art Museum) and his first sculpture, Les Gladiateurs (1878, Musée d'Orsay, Paris), exhibited at the Salon of 1878, the same year that the discoveries from Tanagra were unveiled in Paris. Adopting the Tanagra Figures as a subject matter came naturally to him, providing an opportunity to combine his interest in antiquity with an exploration of the polychrome of sculpture.

Gérôme presented his marble version of Tanagra—painted with warm flesh tones, brown hair, pink lips and blue eyes—at the Paris Salon of 1890, during the peak of these ancient figurines’ popularity. In combining the mediums of painting and sculpture, he created a new and unique kind of realism. This sculpture proved among the most popular of his career, spawning at least four recorded reductions in varying materials and finishes, including the present work, cast by Siot-Decauville.

In his Tanagra sculpture, Gérôme situates the Tyche, or spirit of the ancient city, atop an excavation mound.  Numerous figurines have surfaced in the soil.  At her feet lie the tools that allude to both the archaeological dig as well as Gérôme's role as sculptor. In her upturned hand, she presents a Hoop Dancer, a sculpture of Gérôme's own creation inspired by the painted Hellenistic figures and distributed in two sizes by Goupil beginning in 1891.  In Sculpturæ vitam insufflat pictura, also known as Painting Breathes Life Into Scultpure (1893, Art Gallery of Ontario, fig. 1) Gérôme imagines a young girl in a studio in Tanagra painting casts of the Hoop Dancer and on the window ledge, against the wall, appears a polychromed Tanagra sculpture, anachronisms that suggests the works had existed in antiquity.

When discussing the Tanagra figures in 1899, the Classical scholar, Théodore Reinach, commented that, “Always elegant but never affected, always in motion but never in a hurry, the Tanagra lady is truly the Parisienne of antiquity” (as quoted in Reynold Alleyne Higgins, Tanagra and the Figurines, London, 1987, p. 176-7).  Fittingly, in this successful and highly regarded Tanagra sculpture, Gérôme combines the notion of the antique with a contemporary aesthetic.  In fact, the figure presented to the viewer is likely that of one of his models, named Emma, who can be seen in The Artist's Model (1895, Dahesh Museum of Art, New York, fig. 2), seated beside the marble as the sculptor works.