What Do You See? The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Part I

Throughout the 19th century, with the French government experiencing several regime changes, state commissions were frequently tasked with identifying a national style to uphold the country’s enduring tradition of grand décor. Among the most important public projects were Hippolyte Flandrin’s cycle of paintings in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the round ceiling of the Opéra Garnier, commissioned by Napoleon III, and Puvis de Chavanne’s contributions to a pair of venerable Parisian institutions: the Sorbonne and the Pantheon.Eugène Delacroix played an important role in this trend. The present lot relates to one of the most important commissions he ever received: the decoration of the central cupola, pendentives and apse of the Library of the Palais du Luxembourg. For the monumental dome, Delacroix chose to depict a unified theme, as he explained in 1846: “In the Library’s cupola, we depicted Limbo, as described by Dante in the 4th Canto of his Inferno. It is a sort of Elysium, where great men who have not gathered the grace of Baptism are gathered.”Our work focuses on one of the lower parts of the cupola, and interestingly mixes two episodes. On the left is the Greek cycle, which focuses on Pyrrhus and Hannibal, while on the right begins the Roman cycle, marked by Cato the Younger, notable orator, Roman Senator and a follower of Stoicism. To his right are two bearded men, Marcus Aurelius and Trojan, both seated. Behind them, in the shadows, Julius Caesar and Cicero are shown in conversation. In between, acting as a soft transition, sit two nymphs by a stream. As a study, the work mainly relies on two color schemes as painting on such a large scale required Delacroix to paint in broad strokes and to emphasize the balance of his composition over details. The sketch is also important as it documents the artist’s preparatory process and highlights the modifications made to the final composition. This is what appealed to Mr. Rothberg who collected many drawings, as a way to seek artists’ minds. In this case, Trojan is replaced by Porcia, Cato’s daughter, in the final work.Delacroix’s decision to devote an entire section of the cupola to heroes of Ancient Greece and Rome is deliberate, as the moral and political virtues of such characters were actively invoked by the French government at the time, especially Adolphe Thiers, who approached Delacroix for this project, and who strove for a new ordre morale made of grandeur, severity and irreproachability. The larger reference to Dante’s Inferno is not incidental either, as it allowed Delacroix to draw a parallel between himself and the Italian poet; both recognized the strong influence that antiquity played on their work, and considered themselves to be direct heirs to the classical poets. Just as Dante gracefully joins Homer’s company in the Fourth Canto, Delacroix accepts the honor that is bestowed upon him to continue the great tradition of public decoration, linking himself to illustrious predecessors such as Michelangelo, who channeled the same literary references. The ending to Inferno’s Fourth Canto also echo the purpose of the specific location where Delacroix’s final work was meant to be displayed. As Dante sits with the poets, all look towards a blinding light and agree to remain silent since l tacere è bello quanto fa bello chiacchierare laggiù (“To remain silent is as good as to chat there”), a gentle reminder to all of those studying and working in the library of the French Senate to learn from past geniuses while respecting this rule: silence is golden.