DELAUNAY’S DAPHNIS AND CHLOEA DOSSIER

Summer 2020

SHEPHERD W & K

GALLERIES

DELAUNAY’S DAPHNIS AND CHLOEA DOSSIER

Summer 2020

58 East 79th Street Tel: (212) 861 4050New York, NY 10075 Fax: (212) 772 1314ShepherdNY@aol.com www.shepherdgallery.com

SHEPHERD W & K

GALLERIES

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DELAUNAY, Jules-Élie1828 – 1891French School

DAPHNIS AND CHLOE

Oil on canvas

69” x 41 1/2” (175 x 105.5 cm)

Provenance: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Dec. 14-16, 1891, cat. No. 43

pelted each other with apples, and partedand decked each other ’s hair. Chloedeclared that Daphnis’s hair, being dark,was like myrtale berries: while Daphniscompared Chloe’s face to an apple,because it was fair and ruddy.

There are at least fifty drawings related tothe story of Daphnis and Chloe (many ofwhich are in the collection of the Muséed’arts de Nantes) and a finished painting,dated 1858. Art critic Paul Leroi commend-ed one of Delaunay’s paintings of Daphnisand Chloe, an unfinished work that occu-pied the artist’s easel at his death in 1891,for its “harmonious…line and elevatedstyle”. The present work is said to be the oneon the easel, given the skillful handling andlarge size of the picture and because it wasunfinished. Leroi said of the painting that itpromised to be an extremely accomplishedwork, and called it a “supreme expression of[Delaunay’s] talent.” In Delaunay’s ateliersale held in 1891 at Hôtel Drouot, therewere six canvases and three drawings identi-fied as depicting Daphnis and Chloe.

The present painting was included in the saleof 1891, listed as an esquisse, rather than afinished work. Its large size may indicate thatit was intended for the Salon. Approximately18 preliminary sketches on paper from thecollection of Musée d’arts de Nantes demon-strate how Delaunay shifted the physical posi-tioning of his models, and in doing so adjust-ed the mood and narrative flow, and ultimate-ly, affected the way in which the viewer readsthe painting. In what seems to be the earliestvariation of the theme, the female modelstands in a relaxed contrapposto pose; herbody faces straight out towards the viewer;she looks out and to her right, with a pleasantsmile of satisfaction. She and the male modelare united through gesture; she holds her lefthand up to her chest; she places her righthand on her companion’s chest, while he isrotated in space, turning away from the view-er to place a garland on the woman’s hair. (fig.1) In a second variation, Delaunay altered the

poses so as to make visible the emotional con-nection between his models in a more natu-rally clear and pleasing way; he turned thefemale model inward so that she is now facingtoward her male partner and is no longer infront at the forefront; each of their left legs isbent and pointed towards each other.Delaunay also downcast the eyes of thefemale model and made her arm positionssimilarly passive; her left arm is shifted downand rests just below her breasts and with herright hand, she seems to hold on to the shoul-der of her companion for support. (fig. 2) Yet

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Daphnis and Chloe, written by theGreek Longus in second-century AD,and Adam and Eve, of the Old Testa-ment, are essentially parallel stories. In the lat-ter, Christian narrative, knowledge stripsAdam and Eve of their innocence, resultingin shame, specifically of their physical bod-ies, and in Original Sin. But for Daphnis andChloe, learning about Eros, or the physical andemotional components of love, gives the for-merly naïve couple agency and empowersthem, after a set of trials andtribulations, to act upon theirblooming love and to ultimate-ly live happily ever after. Bothsets of couples have long heldinterest for artists, presumablybecause they enabled these artiststo show off their skill in depict-ing the human form within theacceptable narrative confines ofmythology/history painting. Like-wise, both stories challengedartists to make feelings, whetherlove, lust, shame, etc. visible. Anumber of 19th century interpre-tations of the story of Daphnisand Chloe are known, includingthose by Charles Gleyre, Jean-Léon Gérôme, François Gérard,Elizabeth Jane Gardner (Bou-guereau), Gustave Courtois, andothers, such as Jules-Élie Delau-nay, author of the present, enig-matic work.

This work, probably in the origi-nal studio frame, likely depicts amoment during the time the twoyoung people, both orphans whohave grown up together, realizetheir awakening love for each oth-er. From Book 1:

When noon came on, theywere more enamoured thanever. For Chloe, having seenDaphnis quite naked, wasstruck by the bloom of his

beauty, and her heart melted with love, forhis whole person was too perfect for criti-cism: while Daphnis, seeing Chloe with herfawn skin and garland of pine, holding outthe milkpail for him to drink, thought thathe was gazing upon one of the Nymphs ofthe grotto. He snatched the garland fromher head, kissed it, and placed it on hisown: and Chloe took his clothes when hehad stripped to bathe, kissed them, and inlike manner put them on. Sometimes they

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fig. 1

fig. 2

later” and Daphnis and Chloe ultimately endswith the pair finally consummating their rela-tionship. Additionally, Delaunay didn’temphasize the female model’s belly in otherrelated sketches in quite the same way andneither do the aforementioned 19th centuryartists who seemed to universally paint thesame moments—the falling in love parts fromBook I—of Daphnis and Chloe’s romance.Ultimately, Delaunay’s depiction of thefemale form in this case, pose-wise at least,seems to have more in common with Eve inThe Ghent Altarpiece (1432), for example,than with other Chloes of the 19th century.(fig. 6) Another significant change Delaunaymade from preliminary sketches to this morecomplete work is in the background; in asmall oil study on paper, Daphnis and Chloeare pictured in a landscape that likely resem-bles the Greek island of Lesbos where thestory takes place; the figures are situated infront of a sea and recognizably Mediterranean

terrain; even in a sketch, it is clear that theoverall light is diffused and direct. In thepresent work the lighting, particularly in thebackground, is softened, it appears to be twi-light, and the figures stand in an arguablyEdenic landscape. The female figure is out-lined by the fruit (perhaps apple?) tree which

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another more evolved variation, shows thefemale model removing her right hand fromher partner’s chest and bringing it close tocaress her hair. (fig. 3) In the present work,Delaunay seemed to take a conscious turntowards stillness, stoicism, and seriousness inmood and pose. The bodies of the models areelongated yet solid; their legs, which providethe source of movement in earlier variations,largely stand firm as anchors for the figures

who appear to be caught in infi-nite timelessness. The femalemodel’s gaze again looks outahead of her, but she lacks herwhimsical, small smile. And mostsignificantly, the female model’sarm positioning is completely dif-ferent from earlier sketches.While one of these earlier sketch-es of the female model aloneshows Delaunay’s experimenta-tions with letting the left arm fallnaturally to the side, (fig. 4) heultimately chose to curve the leftarm up and around the woman’srounded belly in a supportive ges-ture; her right arm is now placedbelow the breasts, but slightlylower than before, now restingupon her upper belly.

These compositional and stylisticchoices, and in particular, theshifting of the woman’s arms tosimultaneously show-off and cra-dle her (pregnant?) stomach, arewhat make this painting so enig-matic, and which beg the ques-tion: was Delaunay consciouslyshifting the narrative to that ofAdam and Eve, or was he maybeconflating the two narratives, or isit all just a coincidence and areflection of a work that is still in process? The emphasis onwomen’s stomachs (pregnant ornot), as a symbol of fertility andhealth, was already a well-worntrope in art by the 19th century and

there is, in fact, a much later 1937 woodcutprint by Aristide Maillol that seems to depicta pregnant, or at least, very well-rounded,Chloe. (fig. 5) However, what is curious, isthat the story of Daphnis and Chloe doesn’tend with Chloe as a mother-to be; in the finalparagraphs, it is mentioned that Daphnis andChloe will eventually have a son and daugh-ter, but this is accompanied by an emphaticstatement that “this did not take place until

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fig. 3

fig. 4 fig. 5

Paladilhe) and Chloe sitting in aMediterranean landscape, almostidentical to the one discussed above,with Philetas, an older gentleman(modeled by composer CharlesGounod), who essentially delivers asexual education lesson; he explainsto the couple, as cupid listens infrom above: “For there is no remedyfor Love, that can be eaten or drunkor uttered in song, save kissing andembracing, and lying naked side byside.” The tone of the painting isboth muted in mood and minimalin color; the light is clear and even;the figures are placed in the fore-ground in a flattened space thatevokes the compositional qualities ofa sculptural frieze; additionally, thefigures’ bodies are placed within thespace so that they roughly form theshape of a triangle, a stabilizing force,with Daphnis’s head the apex of thetriangle.

The last quarter of the 19th centurywas an intense period of stylisticinnovation, particularly in France,but while art history largely tends tofocus on those artists who mostobviously broke with convention,the fact of the matter is that manyartists were experimenting at variouslevels which were no less significantand are revealing to us now. In thepresent work, Delaunay introducedmore impressionist brushstroke,symbolist tone and color, and a moresubjective, enigmatic viewpoint tothe narrative, as opposed to theclear, rational, and orderly story-telling of Neoclassicism. Although adirect relationship is not known, it isworth comparing Delaunay’s com-position and the draughtmanship ofhis figures to those of his fellow con-temporary artist, the German Hansvon Marées, who turned away fromacademicism and towards symbolist

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may refer to Longus’s description of Chloe’sapple-like complexion or equally to the bibli-cal Tree of Knowledge. (fig. 7)

Perhaps more than anything else, theunfinished state of the present paintingreflects various levels of the work andthought processes of Delaunay and reveals howhe changed as an artist in the later years of hiscareer. As a young man, Delaunay was firmlyindoctrinated in academic training with a focuson the tenants of Neoclassicism. He studiedwith Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin, Ingres’ mostfamous pupil, entered the École des Beaux-Artsin 1848, and won the Prix de Rome in 1856. Anearlier ébaucheof Daphnis and Chloe with Phile-tas, circa 1877 or after, evokes the order and lin-earity intrinsic to a Neoclassical composition.(fig. 8) The scene depicts the increasingly frus-trated Daphnis (modeled by composer Emilé

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fig. 6 fig. 7 fig. 9

fig. 8

matic color, as well as his erudition andinvention. It seems likely, that Delaunay wasinspired/influenced by his close friend, theSymbolist, Gustave Moreau, who he met inRome in 1856. The two stayed close, and fol-

lowing Delaunay’s death, Moreau took overhis atelier at the École des Beaux-Arts. Onewonders if Delaunay saw Moreau’s Eve, 1885and borrowed elements of the figure’s pose,her long red locks (not atypical in paintings

of Eve and not typical in paint-ings of Chloe of the time), aswell as the rich color tones thatare heightened in the deepeningtwilight light. (fig. 10)

It is in Delaunay’s brushstrokewhere the artist especial lyseemed to have been exploring,and this work tells the story ofhis journey. Daphnis’s lowerlegs, on the one hand, are fin-ished and reflect traditional aca-demic technique seen in workslike Delaunay’s contemporaryWilliam-Adolphe Bougereauwho specialized in moderninterpretations of mythologicalnarratives; in this case, thelighting emphasizes the muscu-lature and strength of the maleform. (fig. 11a, b) On the otherhand, strong outlines in redochre, typically used for theébauche, form Chloe’s figure;the contrast between thesedarker outlines and the internalcoloration of the Chloe’s skin,which seems to be saturated allover by a strong highlightinglight source is reminiscent ofthe work of Édouard Manet, theImpressionist artist probablybest known for utilizing tradi-tion in a subversive manner inorder to create somethingentirely new. (fig. 12a, b) Lastly,Delaunay’s technique of build-ing up layers of brushstroke,seen most clearly in Chloe’sface and the fruit tree behindher, as a way to create structure,form, contrast, and lightingeffects, is particularly similar to

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mythological scenes containing nude figures inambiguous narrative roles; interestingly, it hasbeen suggested that his male and female pairsare likely, in many cases, to be the biblicalAdam and Eve or at least references to them.As seen in a painting by Hans von Marées, ofthree male figures in a landscape, the artist, notunlike Delaunay, compressed his models into avertical space; their bodies are neither idealizedor realist, but seem to exist somewhere in thesphere of an elongated, but less exaggeratedMannerism. (fig. 9) The background space issimilarly compressed, so that the viewer’s eyestays on the surface where all of the narrativeaction is taking place.

Delaunay’s use of rich, emotive color is alsostriking. Léon Bonnat, known for his own

robust, fusion of academicism, naturalism,and impressionism, is noted to have consid-ered Delaunay’s sure and solid draughtsman-ship worthy of the Old Masters. And he sim-ilarly admired Delaunay’s powerful and dra-

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fig. 10 fig. 11b

fig. 11a

fig. 12a

fig. 12b

the sun-dappled images created by Pierre-August Renoir. (fig. 13a, b)

The present picture takes a peek behind thecenturies old developments of WesternEuropean painting and reveals all thenuances which make up Academic traditionand training. For Delaunay, undoubtedly allthe observations discussed above would havebeen reined in to a level of extreme finish tosuit his Academic style. Other artists, wouldhave employed these same techniques oftraining but would have made the level ofsurface finish suit their own artistic inclina-tions and “isms”.

Delaunay was a modest man, entirely dedicat-ed to his art and uninterested in honors andawards; however, Delaunay received numer-ous decorations and commissions, public andprivate, throughout his career. His mostfamous and best known work is Plague in

Rome (1869), currently in the collection ofthe Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Stephanie Hackett

References: Hôtel Drouot, Catalogue des tableaux, esquisses, étudeset dessins par feu Élie Delaunay, 14-16 December 1891(Lugt 50336), cat. No. 43.

Longus (The Athenian Society Translation), ThePastorals, or the Loves of Daphnis and Chloe(Cambridge, Ontario: In parentheses Publications,2002).

Shepherd Gallery, Twenty 19th Century Works of ArtMarking the Twentieth Anniversary of Shepherd Gallery(New York, 1986), ill. Cat. No. 17 (Daphnis and Chloewith Philetas).

Shepherd Gallery, New Acquisitions, European Paintings,Watercolors, Drawings, and Sculpture 1780-1960 (NewYork, 2008), ill. Cat. No. 19 (Daphnis and Chloe)

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Keith StoutPHOTOGRAPHY (figs. 1-4, 7): Pauline Betton

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fig. 13a fig. 13b