PAUL GUSTAVE LOUIS CHRISTOPHE DORÉ (French, 1832-1883)

Property from THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, New York

Details

PAUL GUSTAVE LOUIS CHRISTOPHE DORÉ (French, 1832-1883)
The Murder of Riccio
signed--oil on canvas 104 x 123¼in. (264 x 313cm.)

Provenance

Mr. and Mrs. Sidney C. Norris
(until 1964 when the painting was donated to The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Literature

B. Roosevelt, Life and Reminiscences of Gustave Doré, New York, 1885, p. 345, note 3, states that this was painted in 1855 when Doré was 24 years old and much under the influence of Delacroix, and notes that Théophile Gautier and Edmond About had a high opinion of the painting
B. Jerrold, Life of Gustave Doré, London, 1891, pp. 100, 407,
Appendix II
L. Deze, Gustave Doré, Paris, 1930, p. 126
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Notable Acquisitions, 1965-1975,
New York, 1975, p. 79 (illustrated)
K. Beaetjer, European Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1980, vol. I, p. 48, vol. III, p. 598

Exhibited

London, Doré Gallery, 1883, no. 49

Lot Essay

This picture was painted by Doré during a short stay in London--a time in his career that was marked by a prolifacy of huge canvases. It represents Darnley restraining his wife, Mary Queen of Scots, as her secretary Riccio is murdered.