.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This beautiful pastel is directly related to the oil of the same subject, which is included as the following lot in this sale. Both works also share a similar provenance, having belonged to the famous collection of Paul-Arthur Chéramy. The importance of the subject to the artist is attested to by its treatment in seven other works. In addition to the largest and most important of these, Delacroix's first official commission for a religious painting, in the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis in Paris (Robaut, op. cit., no. 176)(fig.1) , these include two watercolours (R. nos. 177, 182), another pastel (R. 178), one oil (R. 183), a graphite drawing (R. 179), and an ink and wash drawing (R. 180). There is also another painting, considered by Johnson to have been executed with the help of an assistant, in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Although very similar to the oil, like all of Delacroix's pastels, this must be considered as a work in its own right rather than as a preparatory study, as Delacroix strove for completely different effects in the two media, and only rarely worked in pastel. This is confirmed by Johnson's belief that the pencil drawing of this subject served not for any oil painting, but as a preparatory study for the other version in pastel (The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix, vol. III, p. 225).
As the most important colourist of the 19th century, Delacroix was naturally attracted to the chromatic effects of the pastel medium. He explored its various effects across the full range of his subject matter. However, as Johnson points out, 'Delacroix's career fell in a period between two golden ages of pastel' (Delacroix pastels, p. 9), bridging the gap between masters of the medium such as Maurice Quentin de la Tour in the late 18th century, and Edgar Degas and Odilon Redon a century later. Thus, while Delacroix showed an extraordinary aptitude for the medium, he produced only about 100 works, a relatively small number for such a prolific draftsman. The medium's fragility means that of these, few finished works still exist.
The theme treated here resumes on a smaller scale that of Delacroix's commission for the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, but to completely different effect. Whereas the large painting is dramatic, and emphasises Christ's divinity, the smaller oil is more spiritual and stresses His more human suffering. He is depicted without a halo or attendant angels, his expression pained rather than serene, in a pose which suggests profound pathos. In the pastel, gesture and expression give way to a soft, more naturalistic atmosphere, rendered by the sfumato effects of the pastel medium and a more limited colour range. This variety of different effects reflects Delacroix's use of religious painting as a platform on which he could expressively paint a powerful range of human emotions, rather than as a vehicle for his own, loosely held, religious beliefs.
Although very similar to the oil, like all of Delacroix's pastels, this must be considered as a work in its own right rather than as a preparatory study, as Delacroix strove for completely different effects in the two media, and only rarely worked in pastel. This is confirmed by Johnson's belief that the pencil drawing of this subject served not for any oil painting, but as a preparatory study for the other version in pastel (The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix, vol. III, p. 225).
As the most important colourist of the 19th century, Delacroix was naturally attracted to the chromatic effects of the pastel medium. He explored its various effects across the full range of his subject matter. However, as Johnson points out, 'Delacroix's career fell in a period between two golden ages of pastel' (Delacroix pastels, p. 9), bridging the gap between masters of the medium such as Maurice Quentin de la Tour in the late 18th century, and Edgar Degas and Odilon Redon a century later. Thus, while Delacroix showed an extraordinary aptitude for the medium, he produced only about 100 works, a relatively small number for such a prolific draftsman. The medium's fragility means that of these, few finished works still exist.
The theme treated here resumes on a smaller scale that of Delacroix's commission for the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, but to completely different effect. Whereas the large painting is dramatic, and emphasises Christ's divinity, the smaller oil is more spiritual and stresses His more human suffering. He is depicted without a halo or attendant angels, his expression pained rather than serene, in a pose which suggests profound pathos. In the pastel, gesture and expression give way to a soft, more naturalistic atmosphere, rendered by the sfumato effects of the pastel medium and a more limited colour range. This variety of different effects reflects Delacroix's use of religious painting as a platform on which he could expressively paint a powerful range of human emotions, rather than as a vehicle for his own, loosely held, religious beliefs.