The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia
Framed: 20 3/4 x 24 inches (52.71 x 60.96 cm)
- 125
Théodore Géricault, 1791–1824, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, August 30–November 8, 1953, no. 13, as La mort de Camille.
Celebrating Art and Antiques in New York: 11 Treasures Revealed, Richard L. Feigen and Company, New York, January 17–25, 1992, no cat., as The Oath of Brutus After the Death of Lucretia.
Neo-Classicism and Romanticism in French Painting, 1774–1826, Richard L. Feigen and Company, New York, May 10–July 15, 1994, no. 15, as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
This esquisse, or compositional sketch for a larger work, depicts a legendary episode in early Roman history. Lucretia, the bare-breasted woman in the foreground, commits suicide after being raped by the son of the Etruscan king of Rome. Her kinsman Brutus vows revenge on the king’s family, while several other men pledge their solidarity with outstretched arms. Although classical in theme, it is Romantic in spirit through Théodore Géricault’s rich yet moody palette that stems from his interest in Baroque paintings from the 1600s.
Purchased from the posthumous sale of the artist, Tableaux, esquisses, dessins, études diverses, estampes, livres à figures, etc., appartenant à la succession de feu Géricault, peintre d’histoire, Hôtel de Bullion, Paris, November 2–3, 1824, lot 12, as Dix-huit esquisses et études représentant aussi des cavaliers et des chevaux, or lot 14, as Douze esquisses: compositions et figure d’étude, by M. G., ancien Pair de France, 1824–January 31, 1853 [1];
His posthumous sale, Tableaux anciens, dont un très beau de Nicolas Poussin, dessins, estampes, etc., provenant du Cabinet de M. G***, ancien Pair de France, Hôtel des ventes, Rue Drouot, nº 2, Paris, January 31–February 1, 1853, lot 5, as Mort de Lucrèce [2];
Possibly Maillet collection [2];
Dr. Jean-Jacques Gillon (ca. 1908–after 1971), Paris, by August 30, 1953 [3];
Private collection, Europe;
Purchased at the sale, Importants bijoux, estampes et tableaux modernes, art antique, afrique, amérique, océanie, succession de Madame S., à divers amateurs, Drouot-Richelieu, Paris, November 27, 1991, lot 84, as Le serment de Brutus après la mort de Lucrèce, dit aussi la mort de Camille, by Richard L. Feigen and Company, New York, November 27, 1991–May 18, 1992;
Purchased from Feigen by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1992.
NOTES
[1] See Lorenz Eitner, “The Sale of Géricault’s Studio in 1824,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 53, no. 1081 (February 1959): 119; Jacques Thullier and Philippe Grunchec, Tout l’œuvre peint de Géricault, rev. ed. (Paris: Flammarion, 1991), 89; letter from Lorenz Eitner, Stanford University, to Ann Guite, Richard L. Feigen and Company, January 30, 1992, NAMA curatorial files.
[2] See the inscription on the verso on the crossbar: Mr Maillet. Three possibilities for this constituent are Joseph C. Maillet (1751–1811), an engraver who copied paintings; a Maillet who made purchases at sales 1811 and 1816; and Charles Maillet du Boullay (1829–1891), who was a curator at several museums in Rouen and who had a sale on January 22, 1870, that included two paintings by François Boucher and one by Anthelme François Lagrenée. No evidence has been found to identify to which person the inscription might apply.
[3] See letters between Dr. J. J. Gillon of 43, avenue de Suffren, the lender of the Géricault to the 1953 Winterthur exhibition, and curator Dr. Heinz Keller, president W. Dünner, and Hans Bühler, representative of the committee, Winterthur, October and November 1953, NAMA curatorial files. Thank you to Andreas Ehmann, Registrar, Kunst Museum Winterthur, for providing this correspondence.
Notice de tableaux, esquisses, dessins, études diverses, estampes, livres à figures, etc., appartenant à la succession de feu Géricault, peintre d’histoire (Paris: Parmentier et Henry, November 2–3, 1824), 2, as Dix-huit esquisses: compositions, figures et animaux or Douze esquisses: compositions et figures d’étude.
Catalogue de tableaux anciens, dont un très beau de Nicolas Poussin, dessins, estampes, etc., provenant du Cabinet de M. G***, ancien Pair de France, dont la vente aux enchères publiques aura lieu, pour cause de décès (Paris: Maulde et Renou, January 31– February 1, 1853), 4, as Mort de Lucrèce. Esquisse.
Théodore Géricault, 1791–1824, exh. cat. (Winterthur, Switzerland: Buchdruckerei Winterthur, 1953), 23, as La mort de Camille.
Lorenz Eitner, “Géricault at Winterthur,” Burlington Magazine 96, no. 617 (August 1954): 257, as Death of Camillus.
Lorenz Eitner, “The Sale of Géricault’s Studio in 1824,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 53, no. 1081 (February 1959): 119.
Jacques Thuillier and Philippe Grunchec, L’opera completa di Gericault (1978; repr., Milan: Rizzoli, 1981), no. 26, p. 89, (repro.), as Il giuramento di Bruto (la morte di Camillo).
Importants bijoux, estampes et tableaux modernes, art antique, afrique, amérique, océanie, succession de Madame S., à divers amateurs (Paris: Drouot-Richelieu, November 27, 1991), unpaginated, (repro.), as Le serment de Brutus après la mort de Lucrèce, or la mort de Camille.
Jacques Thuillier and Phillipe Grunchec, Tout l’œuvre peint de Gericault [sic], rev. ed. (Paris: Flammarion, 1991), no. 26, pp. 89, 107, 109, (repro.), as Le serment de Brutus après la mort de Lucrèce, or La mort de Camille.
Rita Reif, “The Unveiling of 11 Treasures,” New York Times 141, no. 48,848 (January 17, 1992): C26, as The Oath of Brutus After the Death of Lucretia.
Roger Ward, “New at the Nelson: Diminutive Masterwork by Géricault Acquired,” Newsletter (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) (May 1993): 1–2, (repro.), as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
Alice Thorson, “The Nelson Celebrates its 60th: Museum built its reputation, collection virtually ‘from scratch’,” Kansas City Star 113, no. 304 (July 18, 1993): J5.
Alice Thorson, “Pictures tell a story about evolution of Nelson Gallery,” Kansas City Star 114, no. 86 (December 12, 1993): L6, as The Oath of Brutus.
Alice Thorson, “Artists took center stage in KC art world of 1993,” Kansas City Star (December 26, 1993): K3.
Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collections (New York: Hudson Hills Press in association with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 43, 130, 199, (repro.), as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
Neo-Classicism and Romanticism in French Painting, 1774–1826, exh. cat. (New York: Richard L. Feigen, 1994), 48–49, (repro.), as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
Roger Ward, “Recent Acquisitions at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City,” Burlington Magazine 137, no. 1112 (November 1995): 784–85, (repro.), as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
Germain Bazin, Théodore Géricault: Étude critique, documents et catalogue raisonné (Paris: Wildenstein Institute, 1997), no. 2695, p. 7:277, (repro.), as Le serment de brutus, or La mort de Camille.
Alice Thorson, “The word on Ward’s new job,” Kansas City Star 121, no. 343 (August 26, 2001): N4.
Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 111, (repro.), as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
Catherine Futter et al., Bloch Galleries: Highlights from the Collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2016), 21, (repro.), as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
Toshiharu Nakamura, ed., Kyoto Studies in Art History (Kyoto, Japan: University of Kyoto, 2017), 2:99–100, (repro.), as The Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
Tableaux et Dessins du XVIe au XXe Siècle, exh. cat. (Paris: Galerie Alexis Bordes, 2019), 70, 150, (repro.), as Le Serment de Brutus après la mort de Lucrèce, Oath of Brutus after the Death of Lucretia.
