Albert-Jules EDOUARD (Caen, 1845 - Paris, 1919) The poet and the muse, by Lamartine Oil on canvas (Original canvas) Signed 'ALBERT EDOUARD' lower left Traces of annotations above the signature Canvas by Hardy Alan (Restorations) Frameless The poet and the muse, from Lamartine, oil on canvas, signed, by A.-J. Edouard 34.06 x 27.95 in. 86.5 x 71.0 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, s. 5-6, Auction Art Rémy Le Fur & Associés, 23 May 2011, no. 43 (as "L'apothéose d'Alphonse de Lamartine") ; Acquired at this sale by Gérard Lévy; Gérard Lévy Collection; Then by descent Exhibitions: Salon des Artistes français, Paris, Palais des Champs-Élysées, April - May 1894, cat. no. 695: "Le poète et la muse, de Lamartine". Bibliography: Bernard, Tristan, "Le Salon du chasseur de chevelures illustré par Tristan Bernard et Toulouse-Lautrec - Le Salon du Tartare et le Salon des Champs-Élysées", La Revue Blanche, June 1894, p. 582. Bernier, Georges and Rosamond, "Lautrec at the 1894 Salon", L'œil, December 1969, reproduced on p. 24. With its unique iconography, depicting Alphonse de Lamartine carried in triumph to the sea by his winged muse, crowned with laurels and carrying his harp, our painting by Albert Édouard did not go unnoticed when it was exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français in 1894 (cat. no. 695). In fact, in a supplement to the June issue of La Revue Blanche, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Tristan Bernard signed an illustrated Salon du Chasseur de chevelures, in the same vein as the caricatural Salons published in Le Charivari from 1843 onwards. Commenting on his visit to the Salon, Tristan Bernard was quick to mention "A Lamartine-reclame [that] extols a new bicycle<a href="#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><i>[1]</i></strong></a>", criticising the somewhat pompous nature of the subject. Lautrec humorously illustrated the writer's satirical remarks with a little sketch thrown in for good measure, replacing the muse with the two wheels of a bicycle. <a href="#_ftnref1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> Bernard, Tristan, "Le Salon du chasseur de chevelures illustré par Tristan Bernard et Toulouse-Lautrec - Le Salon du Tartare et le Salon des Champs-Elysées", La Revue Blanche, no. 32, June 1894, p. 582. Albert-Jules EDOUARD (Caen, 1845 - Paris, 1919) 86.5 x 71.0 cm With its singular iconography, depicting Alphonse de Lamartine carried in triumph before the sea by his winged muse, crowned with laurels and carrying his harp, this painting by Albert Édouard did not go unnoticed when it was exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français in 1894 (cat. no. 695). In fact, in a supplement to the June issue of La Revue Blanche, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Tristan Bernard signed an illustrated Salon du Chasseur de chevelures, in the same vein as the caricatural Salons published in Le Charivari from 1843 onwards. Commenting on his visit to the Salon, Tristan Bernard was quick to mention "a Lamartine advertisement [that] extols a new bicycle<a href="#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>[1]</em></strong></a>", criticising the somewhat pompous nature of the subject. Lautrec humorously illustrated the writer's satirical remarks with a little sketch thrown in for good measure, replacing the muse with the two wheels of a bicycle. <a href="#_ftnref1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> Bernard, Tristan, "Le Salon du chasseur de chevelures illustré par Tristan Bernard et Toulouse-Lautrec - Le Salon du Tartare et le Salon des Champs-Elysées", La Revue Blanche, no. 32, June 1894, p. 582.