Poète mort porté par un centaure, ca. 1895

Enamel with gold flakes on copper
h. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm) - w. 5 3/4 in. (14,5 cm)
Signed 'Gustave Moreau Pinx.' & 'P. Grandhomme Emailleur'
Unique piece

PROVENANCE : Me Prunier, Louviers, 11th October 1998, mislabelled as ‘The Abduction of Orpheus’ - Collection of Roberto Polo, acquired at the above sale - French Private Collection, ca. 2000 - European private collection, acquired directly from the previous owner, until 2022.

SIMILAR PIECES : Less than thirty enameled plaques by Paul Grandhomme and his associate Alfred Garnier after designs by Gusvate Moreau have been identified. Notable plaques include The Voices in the collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris (Inv. N0.684.19176.67), Chimera in the Moscow Historical State Museum, Hercules and the Twelve Labors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2011.357), and Sapho in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris (OAO 1169).

LITERATURE : Pierre-Louis Mathieu, Françoise Siess, Gustave Moreau, Supplément au Nouveau Catalogue de l’œuvre achevé, Paris, 2005, page 23, catalogue n° 526 - Catherine Carinal, ‘Le goût de l'émail des peintres dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle’ in Rossella Froissart, Laurent Houssais, Jean-François Luneau, Du Romantisme à l'Art Déco, Mélanges offerts à Jean-Luc Bouillon, 2011, illustrated page 163, figure 11.

COLLECTION : Virginia Museum of Fine Arts