Joseph-Nicolas ROBERT-FLEURY (1797-1890)

Lot 127
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Estimation :
5000 - 8000 EUR
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Result : 6 440EUR
Joseph-Nicolas ROBERT-FLEURY (1797-1890)
The execution of the doge Marino Faliero, 1844 Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right. 211 x 263 cm (With frame 230 x 282 cm) (Cracks, accidents and missing parts) General bibliography of the artist: Les années romantiques, la peinture française de 1815 à 1850, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Paris, 1995, p. 428 Exhibition: Paris, Salon of 1845, n°1449. Joseph Nicolas ROBERT-FLEURY, also a portraitist, excelled in history painting. His talent and the power of his imagination in depicting memorable and dramatic historical scenes earned him a number of official commissions, notably for the historical museum in Versailles. A student of Gros, Horace Vernet and Girodet, he made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1824 on his return from Italy. He quickly became famous, thanks in particular to the exhibition of the work "Le Tasse au couvent de Saint-Onuphre". He also worked as a teacher, was Director of the Ecole des Beaux-arts (1863) and Director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome between 1866 and 1867. Our painting was exhibited at the Salon of 1845 under the number 1449. Joseph Nicolas depicts the Doge, Marino Faliero, under arrest in the Giants' Staircase of the Venetian palace. Tried by the Council of Ten for high treason and conspiracy with the enemy republic of Genoa, the Doge was sentenced to beheading. He was executed on 17 April 1335. The sumptuousness of the palace's decor and the majestic statues framing the staircase highlight the traitor's fall. It was on this same staircase that the doges took their oath of loyalty to the Republic. The cushion placed at the feet of the Doge is to collect the decapitated head before the body is publicly displayed. The refinement of the doges' costumes and the voluptuous drapery of the fabrics underline the sacredness and authority of the institution over men. Marino Sanuto, chronicler of Venice, states that following the execution, the Council addressed the people gathered in St Mark's Square and brandished the bloody sword, exclaiming "see that the traitor has been brought to justice! Delacroix, in his romantic Execution of Doge Marino Faliero, 1826, depicts the doge beheaded, as the people are shown the bloody sword. Our painting, in contrast, captures the tension of the last moments and underlines, thanks to a calculated staging, the political importance of the condemnation of the conspirator prince. His name was removed from the Golden Book of Venice and the portrait, which is now missing from the collection of portraits of the doges in the Grand Council Chamber, was covered with a black veil.
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