Jean-Léon GÉRÔME (1824-1904). - Lot 122

Jean-Léon GÉRÔME (1824-1904). Allegory of Science: study for the mural decoration of the allegories of the arts and sciences in the refectory of the Saint-Martin-des-Champs priory in Paris (1852, destroyed in 1965). Pencil and stump signed and dedicated lower right: "A mon ami Membrée" (?), probably for Edmond Membrée (1820-1882), French composer. Paper lined in full on cardboard. Dimensions: 75x32 cm. (Unevenly cut paper, insolate, stains, small hole bottom right). Expert: Cabinet Perazzone-Brun. Le décor de Saint-Martin-des Champs : In 1850, Léon Vaudoyer (1803-1872) drew up plans to convert the 13th-century refectory of the Saint-Martin-des Champs priory into a library for the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, a technical museum housed in the former monastery since the Revolution. At the entrance, he designed a modest classical portico with pediment and caryatids. The interior was to be decorated in the neo-Gothic style. On February 2, 1850, Jean-Léon Gérôme requested the painting of the two blind windows on the east wall, enclosing a drawing with his letter, now unfortunately lost. On February 7, he was awarded the contract for five thousand francs, payable in instalments. Gérôme's paintings were destroyed when the room was redecorated in 1965. The allegories of the arts and sciences represent six figures arranged in blind ogival niches on the back wall of the Gothic hall, formerly a refectory, now a library. Two pairs of standing allegorical figures, "Sculpture and Painting" and "Chemistry and Physics", are surmounted by medallions representing heads: Ars and Scientia. A 55x45 cm oil sketch of the allegories, painted in 1852, can be seen in Montpellier's Musée Fabre. It was purchased by Théophile Silvestre for Alfred Bruyas, who subsequently donated it to the museum. Le Chalet de la rue de Fleurus: The artists' phalanstery where Gérôme lived during the events of 1848 is a house at 27, rue de Fleurus, near Luxembourg, divided into studios. This dwelling was nicknamed "Le Chalet". The studios of Gérôme, Picou and Hamon opened onto an obscure corridor. The painters entertained each other at all hours. Gautier and Champfleury described life at Le Chalet as more aesthetic than revolutionary. There were also musicians, not the least of whom were Membrée, Jacquard, Armingault and Lalo, who sang in chorus and played chamber music. Gérôme arrived at Le Chalet in 1846. He stayed there until 1853 or 1855, when, after a short stay on rue Duguay-Trouin, he left for Egypt. Bibliography: Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme. Monographie révisée et catalog raisonné mis à jour, collection "Les orientalistes", Éditions ACR, Paris, 2000.