Live Auction 21605The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection: Volume 2 | Old Master, 19th and 20th Century Paintings, Day Sale
GUSTAVE MOREAU (FRENCH, 1826-1898)
Lot 126

GUSTAVE MOREAU (FRENCH, 1826-1898)

Costume design for Sapho

Closed21 October 2022

Price Realised

USD 32,760

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

Conditions of Sale
How to sell

GUSTAVE MOREAU (FRENCH, 1826-1898)
Costume design for Sapho
signed with monogram ‘GM’ (lower left) and inscribed in graphite ‘Mme Krauss - Sapho- / robe blanche -/ ornements violets […] vert’/ manteau scabieuse ou noir’ (lower right)
graphite, on thin wove paper
11 3/8 x 7 in. (29.1 x 17.7 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 11 December 1930, lot 134 (sold for 70 francs).
Gustave Lebel (1870-1945), Paris; by descent to
Jean Ehrmann (1902-1984), Paris (L. 3581).
‌‌‌Anonymous sale; Christie’s, London, 4 April 1978, lot 113.
‌Private collection, The Netherlands, by 1992.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby’s, London, 10 July 1995, lot 103.
‌Acquired by Ann and Gordon Getty from the above.

Specialist note

In 1883, Moreau was commissioned to produce costume designs for Charles Gounod’s opera Sapho, performed at the Opéra de Paris the following year. It is unclear why his designs were not used and the commission subsequently given to the inhouse costume designer Eugène Lacoste. It is possible that Moreau’s costumes were considered too elaborate and therefore too costly to produce.