Description
Gérôme spent the years 1843 and 1844 in Rome, where this work was painted. The woman's severe expression and drapery recall ancient Roman statuary as well as the 19th-century belief that the essence of the antique could still be found amid the ruins and people of contemporary Rome.
Provenance
Perhaps Italienne commissioned from the artist by Joseph Courcelles, Vesoul, before 1847. Goupil to Hoey, New York, 1867, as an étude, for ff 250. Probably acquired as Tête d'Italienne from Gérôme by Goupil, May 1871, for ff 2,250 and sold to Everard, London, for ff 3,000, and then Goupil bought it back in London, May 1871, for ff 3,500 and sold it 31 July 1871 to Knoedler, New York, for ff 4,000 francs on a fixed account.3 Boussod, Valadon & Cie to Delmonico, New York, 1885. Belgian private collection. Christie's, London, 20 February 1976 (lot 153, repr.), Study of a Roman, property of a Belgian private collector, £400. Shepherd Gallery, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland. Bequeathed to the CMA in 1980.
Accession Number
1980.264
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Framed: 60 x 51 x 6 cm (23 5/8 x 20 1/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 44.5 x 36 cm (17 1/2 x 14 3/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Noah L. Butkin