Most esteemed colleagues,
I have been trying to help a student with some provenance
research--something we have relatively few resources to support--and have
had no success answering the following. (The dates in question are
unfortunately too late for most of the Getty's online resources to cover;
the one I tried yielded nothing.)
"I have been onto the Louvre website but can only ascertain that
"Sardanapalus" was bought from Baron Vitta on the arrears of a legacy from
Maurice Audeoud in 1921 since which time it has remained in the Louvre.
Before that I can find only find out that Delacroix kept it in his studio
until 1846, when it was sold to a private collector - no name. He also
made a small reprise for himself that is now in the Philadelphia Museum of
Art, and I have the provenance for that.
Can you recommend a way I might find what happened to the original
painting between 1846 and 1921?"
A quote from the following article suggests that this information may
simply not be available. If this is indeed one of the great mysteries of
art history, I would appreciate having that confirmed. If someone can
actually answer that question, I would be even more grateful.
Fraser Elizabeth A. "Delacroix's 'Sardanapalus': The life and death of the
royal body."
FRENCH HISTORICAL STUDIES 26 (2): 315-349 Spring 2003
"Indeed, of the artist?s early history paintings, Sardanapalus was the
only one not purchased by the state. So severe was the proscription
against this work that it disappeared from view after the close of the
Salon, returning to the artist?s studio until 1845, and not reentering a
public institution until the Louvre bought it in 1921."
Edith L. Crowe | (408) 808-2037 | [log in to unmask]
Interim Head of Collection Development
Art & Humanities Librarian & Coordinator of Graduate Instruction
San Jose State University Library (http://www.sjlibrary.org)
Corresponding Secretary of the Mythopoeic Society (http://www.mythsoc.org)
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