Lithograph on paper. Featuring a Roman-Greco mythological scene. Signed Gustave Moreau and inscribed 29/50 on the lower right and lower left corner, respectively. Attributed to Gustave Moreau (1826-1898, French). 17 x 13 cm (6.7 x 5.1 inches).

Gustave Moreau (1826-1898) was a French Symbolist painter known for his jewel-like depictions of mythological and religious subject matter. In his work Salomé Dancing before Herod (1876), Moreau emphasized both the eroticism and ornamental aspects of the scene with heavy impasto and glints of bright color. “The expression of human feelings and the passions of man certainly interest me deeply,” he once explained. “But I am less concerned with expressing the motions of the soul and mind than to render visible, the inner flashes of intuition which have something divine in their apparent insignificance and reveal magic, even divine horizons, when they are transposed into the marvelous effects of pure plastic art.” Born on April 6, 1826 in Paris, France, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts before taking private courses under the painter Théodore Chassériau, whose work Moreau profoundly admired. Travelling to Italy in 1857, he studied paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Giovanni Bellini over a two year period. Along with his influence on the younger Symbolist painter Odilon Redon, Moreau was also notably the professor of Henri Matisse and Georges Rouault at the École des Beaux-Arts. He died on April 18, 1898 in Paris, France. In 1903, the Musée National Gustave Moreau opened to the public in Paris. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, among others.

All lots that do not carry established documented provenance nor any past record of auction history record are described in the catalog as attributed .

All authorship of items in this catalog are described according to the following terms:

Signed [Artist Name] : In cases in which the signature is legible in the lot, this work is described as-is with no attributions given.

By [Artist Name] : The work is by the artist.

Attributed to [Artist Name] : The work may be ascribed to the artist on the basis of style, but there may be some question as to actual authorship.

In the manner of [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist.

After [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist.

Circle of [Artist Name] : A work of the period of the artist showing his influence, closely associated with the artist but not necessarily his pupil.

Follower of [Artist Name]: A work by a pupil or a follower of the artist (not necessarily a pupil).

American, 19th century : This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).