Jean-Léon Gérôme, French, 1824-1904
Title: Guards at the Door of a Tomb
Date: 1870s
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
81 x 65 cm
Signed: lower left: J L Gerome
Credit Line: Presented, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, 1950
Object Number: NGI.4234
DescriptionGérôme was the most successful and influential artist of the Orientalist movement in the second half of the nineteenth century. Most of his Near Eastern scenes depict Egypt, especially contemporary Cairo where this composition appears to be set. A sentinel stands before a tomb, armed with a musket. His two companions have laid their arms aside and are resting in the strong sunshine: a silver decorated rifle has been leant against the wall. The four handprints, so evident against the bleached white wall, are the bloody handprints of the faithful. Above the door and below the arch, with its stalactite vaulting, six chains with ornamental balls are suspended from a wooden beam, with small bells and scales (the symbols of justice) swinging from four of them.
Gérôme employed a careful, highly polished technique of laying down thin layers of paint. This, coupled with his fidelity to detail, contributes to the remarkable realism found in his works. When working at home in his studio, he used props brought back from his travels, and he also used photographs as 'aides-mémoire'.
(National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide, 2008)
Gérôme employed a careful, highly polished technique of laying down thin layers of paint. This, coupled with his fidelity to detail, contributes to the remarkable realism found in his works. When working at home in his studio, he used props brought back from his travels, and he also used photographs as 'aides-mémoire'.
(National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide, 2008)
ProvenanceHotel Drouot, Paris, 18 March 1933, no. 30; Sir Alfred Chester Beatty; presented, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, 1950
Exhibition HistoryThe East: Imagined, Experienced, Remembered. Orientalist Nineteenth Century Painting, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 1988
La Peinture Francais du XIXe siècle. Collection Chester Beatty de la Galerie National d'Irlande, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Calais; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Quimper; Musée Sainte-Croix, Poitiers, 1989
French 19th and 20th Century Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland: Corot to Picasso, Daimaru Museum, Tokyo, 5 September-17 September 1996; Daimaru Museum, Kyoto, 10 October-22 October 1996; Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi, 26 October-2 December 1996; Daimaru Museum, Umeda,Osaka, 22 January-9 February 1997; Aomori Municpal Gallery of Art, Aomori, 2 April-20 April 1997
Chester Beatty: The Paintings, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, 7 September 2012 - 31 August 2013
La Peinture Francais du XIXe siècle. Collection Chester Beatty de la Galerie National d'Irlande, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Calais; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Quimper; Musée Sainte-Croix, Poitiers, 1989
French 19th and 20th Century Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland: Corot to Picasso, Daimaru Museum, Tokyo, 5 September-17 September 1996; Daimaru Museum, Kyoto, 10 October-22 October 1996; Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi, 26 October-2 December 1996; Daimaru Museum, Umeda,Osaka, 22 January-9 February 1997; Aomori Municpal Gallery of Art, Aomori, 2 April-20 April 1997
Chester Beatty: The Paintings, Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, 7 September 2012 - 31 August 2013
Label TextWorking from sketches, photographs, and props that he acquired on his travels, Gérôme made many paintings depicting life in contemporary Cairo. In this scene, a sentinel guards a tomb, armed with a large musket. His companions have laid their weapons aside and rest in the strong sunlight. Above the doorway, bells and scales (symbols of justice) hang from small ornamental balls. Ritualistic handprints in animals’ blood mark the white walls of the building. To the right a minaret stands tall against the blue sky.