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Lot Essay
“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods (…). He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites (…). He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods” (I. Kings 11. 1-8). So is the subject of Solomon's sacrifice, regularly represented by artists in the 17th century, described in the Bible. Here King Solomon, recognizable by his crown, gives his allegiance to the statue of the goddess Ashtoreth. In the foreground a group of women officiates and sacrifices a young Sheep, whose blood spills out onto a large silver tray and is then poured over the steaming coals in a golden brazier.
As a Protestant, Sebastien Bourdon was obviously attracted by a subject -- which he represented several times -- that raised the question of fidelity to God. His scene here is inventive but absolutely harmonious, a complex but perfectly balanced construction with no less than thirteen figures whose actions are all perfectly legible. The dating of the painting is not entirely certain, but Jacques Thuillier (loc. cit.) places it among the first works in the artist's oeuvre, which he calls 'personal production', between 1636 and 1638. Trained in Paris, the young Sébastien Bourdon is mentioned in Rome as early as 1636, where he ardently studied the works by Caravaggio and Claude Lorrain, as well as those of Pieter van Laer and the Bamboccianti. This early exposure to such a wide range of techniques and aesthetics would all become integral to the development of Bourdon's mature style, the beginnings of which are already in evidence here. There can be no question that the present work is a masterwork of the first phase of Bourdon's career.
The history of the present canvas is well-documented since the end of the 18th century. As early as 1777, the painting was part of the collection of Louis Tronchin of Waldkirch. It remained in the same family at the Château de Bassinge in Cologny until the home was acquired by the ancestors of the present owner. Prior to the painting's arrival in Cologny it was almost certainly sold as part of the Verrier collection in Paris in November 1776. The catalog of this sale described no. 62 as a painting by Bourdon representing 'A Sacrifice', with the same dimensions as the present work. A sketch by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin in the margin of his copy of the catalogue proves that this is indeed the same composition.
Recently cleaned and in very good state, the painting now reveals a number of details that had formerly been covered by old repairs, including the head of a broken statue at far left. Two other similar versions of the present composition, both of lesser quality, are known (formerly Francis Haskell collection; and sold Sotheby's, London, 25 June 25 1969, lot 64), making clear that the painting was already considered important in Bourdon's time.
As a Protestant, Sebastien Bourdon was obviously attracted by a subject -- which he represented several times -- that raised the question of fidelity to God. His scene here is inventive but absolutely harmonious, a complex but perfectly balanced construction with no less than thirteen figures whose actions are all perfectly legible. The dating of the painting is not entirely certain, but Jacques Thuillier (loc. cit.) places it among the first works in the artist's oeuvre, which he calls 'personal production', between 1636 and 1638. Trained in Paris, the young Sébastien Bourdon is mentioned in Rome as early as 1636, where he ardently studied the works by Caravaggio and Claude Lorrain, as well as those of Pieter van Laer and the Bamboccianti. This early exposure to such a wide range of techniques and aesthetics would all become integral to the development of Bourdon's mature style, the beginnings of which are already in evidence here. There can be no question that the present work is a masterwork of the first phase of Bourdon's career.
The history of the present canvas is well-documented since the end of the 18th century. As early as 1777, the painting was part of the collection of Louis Tronchin of Waldkirch. It remained in the same family at the Château de Bassinge in Cologny until the home was acquired by the ancestors of the present owner. Prior to the painting's arrival in Cologny it was almost certainly sold as part of the Verrier collection in Paris in November 1776. The catalog of this sale described no. 62 as a painting by Bourdon representing 'A Sacrifice', with the same dimensions as the present work. A sketch by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin in the margin of his copy of the catalogue proves that this is indeed the same composition.
Recently cleaned and in very good state, the painting now reveals a number of details that had formerly been covered by old repairs, including the head of a broken statue at far left. Two other similar versions of the present composition, both of lesser quality, are known (formerly Francis Haskell collection; and sold Sotheby's, London, 25 June 25 1969, lot 64), making clear that the painting was already considered important in Bourdon's time.