Page 28 - G19C Opening Catalogue

Jean–Léon Gérôme

MARCUS BOTSARIS, c. 1870

One of Gérôme’s most penetrating psychological studies, this
posthumous portrait of the Greek rebel leader Marcus Botsaris
(1788–1823) numbers among his most compelling Orientalist works.
The subject, prematurely aged by the artist for dramatic effect
and bristling with costly weapons, sits amidst a brilliant display of
patterned surfaces and decorative objets, many of which were drawn
from the artist’s own extravagant collection. (Gérôme traveled
throughout the East from 1856 onward, acquiring a virtual library
of souvenirs along the way.) Despite the weight of his crimson and
gold apparel, and Botsaris’s slouching and listless posture—note
the loosely crossed legs, offhandedly turned foot, and dangling right
arm—the intensity of his outward stare suggests the energy within
this remarkable man. Indeed, it was Botsaris who, during the War
of Greek Independence and until his untimely death at Missolonghi
in 1823, distinguished himself by his courage, tenacity, and skill as a
soldier and regiment head.

Upon seeing the picture again in 1898, Gérôme’s pride in his efforts
was clear: “It is already a long time,” the artist penned, “a very long
time that that painting was executed, and some parts of it, such as
modelling and colouring, seem to have been successful. I noted with
pleasure that as regards material, it had not changed at all and that it
appeared as having been painted yesterday. The simplest means are
decidedly the best.”

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