Lot Essay
Timon of Athens, inspired by Shakespeare's play of the same title, is Couture's allegory of greed. It should be seen as a development of the themes of his L'Amour de L'Or of 1844. Of the earlier picture, Couture wrote: "The picture of Love and Gold is taken from Shakespeare's Timon of Athens; a miser who possesses much gold finds all kinds of temptations coming his way, but since he is swayed more by the possession of his riches, he replies to every offer, "I prefer my gold more," and master Satannas, delighted for having invented this beautiful yellow temptress, laughs like the damned person he is when he sees (the naked ones yielding without receiving anything in turn) this race (to the bell tower) for gold whose goal will be hidden by him who is in Hell"(Couture Family Archives, "Quelques lettres," M.S. no.293).
From the above quote, it is apparent, as Boime points out, that Couture has misinterpreted the play and the central character himself(A. Boime, Thomas Couture and the Eclectic Vision, 1980). The rich and generous Athenian Timon had showered his friends and acquintances with gifts only to be abandoned by them when his money is spent. With no other option, Timon goes to live in a cave outside of Athens where he finds a bag of gold. At this point, his supplicating friends return, once again begging for Timon's generosity. Timon instead, gives the gold to Alcibiades to destroy Athens and hangs himself from a nearby tree.
A large-scale version of our work was destroyed in the artist's studio in 1870. However, many drawings and oil sketches survive; a version almost identical to the present one, with the exceptions of a black bird perched on a post behind Timon and the lady's cloaked attendant facing Timon is in the Wallace Collection, London; a similar drawing with the addition of a man who stands behind Timon with a coining press, aiding his master's gluttony is in the Louvre; a drawing also with a coiner, and another drawing, with a coining man and with six men dragging a box, being directed by a man on a Church pulpit are in the Château de Compiègne; with Shickman Gallery, October 1965 (published in Shickman Catalogue of that year) and a drawing with a coiner and with the nude's attendant in the exact position as our painting was with Shickman GAlleries in October 1865. The Brooklyn Museum also has a study for the beggar in the central foreground. It is thought that this man is the same one as in Couture's Stella Maris, the fresco cycle completed by the artist for St. Eustache in 1851.
Thomas Couture, born in Senlis moved to Paris in 1826. He studied under Gros from 1830-5, attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts and trained with Paul Delaroche in 1838. In 1847 Couture painted his famed The Romans of the Decadence(Musée d'Orsay, Paris). This painting won him a first class medal at the Salon and enormous praise from the critic while establishing him as a painter of the "juste milieu." A clear commentary on the social decadence of the July Monarchy and the new middle class in Paris, it seems almost ironic that this painting also received a grand reception from the public. The Romans of the Decadence and the present work, show Couture's ability to meld ancient and modern themes, stylistic vocabularies and palettes.
Couture exhibited at the Salon from 1838 and continued to exhibit until 1872, winning a Chevalier de la Légion of d'Honneur in 1848, and a gold medal in the Unviversal Exhibition of 1855.
Thomas Couture's influence as a teacher was far reaching and he had an international body of students, many of whom became influential in their own rights, including Edouard Manet, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, and Anselme Feuerbach.
From the above quote, it is apparent, as Boime points out, that Couture has misinterpreted the play and the central character himself(A. Boime, Thomas Couture and the Eclectic Vision, 1980). The rich and generous Athenian Timon had showered his friends and acquintances with gifts only to be abandoned by them when his money is spent. With no other option, Timon goes to live in a cave outside of Athens where he finds a bag of gold. At this point, his supplicating friends return, once again begging for Timon's generosity. Timon instead, gives the gold to Alcibiades to destroy Athens and hangs himself from a nearby tree.
A large-scale version of our work was destroyed in the artist's studio in 1870. However, many drawings and oil sketches survive; a version almost identical to the present one, with the exceptions of a black bird perched on a post behind Timon and the lady's cloaked attendant facing Timon is in the Wallace Collection, London; a similar drawing with the addition of a man who stands behind Timon with a coining press, aiding his master's gluttony is in the Louvre; a drawing also with a coiner, and another drawing, with a coining man and with six men dragging a box, being directed by a man on a Church pulpit are in the Château de Compiègne; with Shickman Gallery, October 1965 (published in Shickman Catalogue of that year) and a drawing with a coiner and with the nude's attendant in the exact position as our painting was with Shickman GAlleries in October 1865. The Brooklyn Museum also has a study for the beggar in the central foreground. It is thought that this man is the same one as in Couture's Stella Maris, the fresco cycle completed by the artist for St. Eustache in 1851.
Thomas Couture, born in Senlis moved to Paris in 1826. He studied under Gros from 1830-5, attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts and trained with Paul Delaroche in 1838. In 1847 Couture painted his famed The Romans of the Decadence(Musée d'Orsay, Paris). This painting won him a first class medal at the Salon and enormous praise from the critic while establishing him as a painter of the "juste milieu." A clear commentary on the social decadence of the July Monarchy and the new middle class in Paris, it seems almost ironic that this painting also received a grand reception from the public. The Romans of the Decadence and the present work, show Couture's ability to meld ancient and modern themes, stylistic vocabularies and palettes.
Couture exhibited at the Salon from 1838 and continued to exhibit until 1872, winning a Chevalier de la Légion of d'Honneur in 1848, and a gold medal in the Unviversal Exhibition of 1855.
Thomas Couture's influence as a teacher was far reaching and he had an international body of students, many of whom became influential in their own rights, including Edouard Manet, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, and Anselme Feuerbach.