Alexandre DECAMPS (1803-1860) - Lot 92

Alexandre DECAMPS (1803-1860) Study for "Lion with Saint Jerome in the Desert". Graphite, charcoal and white chalk on paper. Monogrammed (possibly apocryphal) lower left. 25 x 40 cm Annotated on the Marie-louise in the lower right: "Monsieur Tellier me prie de mettre mon nom au bas de ce dessin / Je me rends volontiers à son désir / Jules Gérard". On the back, a handwritten document from Decamps: "Monsieur / Ce croquis est effectivement de moi mais j'ignore qui a pu mettre une telle chose dans le commerce vous pouvez le faire prendre à mon atelier les jours que vous voudrez / votre très humble sv/ Decamps". Rubbing with minor loss. Insolate. Wooden frame and gilded plaster mounted on hinges. Damage. Painted between 1835 and 1840, it is now in the Musée de l'Oise -Mudo in Beauvais. Jules Gérard (1817-1864), was a soldier, explorer and great hunter nicknamed the "lion killer". His military career took him to Algeria and sub-Saharan Africa, where he explored and organized hunts. He described his exploits in hunting publications, and is said to have inspired Alphonse Daudet to write Tartarin de Tarascon.