Luc-Olivier MERSON (Paris, 1846 - 1920) The Judgement of Pâris Oil, pen and ink on canvas (Original canvas) Signed and dated 'LVC OLIVIER - MERSON / .MDCCCLXXXIV.' upper left (Restorations around the edges) The judgment of Pâris, oil, pen and Indian ink on canvas, signed and dated, by L. -O. Merson 31.89 x 19.09 in. 81.0 x 48.5 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Mes Couturier-Couturier-de Nicolay, 12 February 1969, no. 30 ; Acquired at this sale by Gérard Lévy; Gérard Lévy Collection; Then by descent Exhibitions: Salon des Artistes français, Paris, Palais des Champs-Élysées, May 1884, cat. no. 1690: "Le jugement de Pâris" ("The Judgement of Paris") Exposition des Beaux-Arts, Nantes, 1886, cat. no. 761 bis: "Le Jugement de Pâris" ("The Judgement of Paris") Exposition Universelle de 1889, Paris, Palais des Beaux-arts, 5 May - 31 October 1889, cat. no. 1022: "L'amour au jugement de Pâris". Salon, Mulhouse, 1890, cat. no. 194: "L'amour au jugement de Pâris" ("Love at the Judgement of Paris") Société Nationale des Beaux-arts, Paris, Grand-Palais, 13 April - 30 June 1921, cat. no. 252: "Le Jugement de Pâris" (The Judgement of Paris) L'Art et la Vie en France à la Belle Époque, Île de Bendor, Fondation Paul Ricard, September - October 1971, cat. no. 257: "L'amour au jugement de Paris" [label on reverse]. Bibliography: Comte, J., "Le Salon de 1884", L'Illustration, 3 May 1884, p. 286 Schurr, Gérald, 1820-1920 / Les Petits Maitres de la Peinture / Valeur de Demain, Editions de la Gazette, 1969, reproduced p. 72: "L'Amour au Jugement de Paris". Ribemont, Francis (ed.), Stevenin, Anne-Blanche, L'Etrange Monsieur Merson, Lyon, Editions Lieux-Dits, 2008, work mentioned p. 26-27 and p. 96-98 ["Le Jugement de Pâris"]. The son of painter and art critic Charles-Olivier Merson, Luc-Olivier Merson completed his training with Isidore Pils at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He exhibited for the first time at the Salon of 1866 and was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome for painting in 1869. After winning a first-class medal at the Salon des artistes français in 1875, he triumphed at the Exposition Universelle in 1889, winning a gold medal. The artist had presented our painting, Le Jugement de Pâris (cat. no. 1022), previously exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français in 1884 (cat. no. 1690) and at the Beaux-arts exhibition in Nantes two years later (cat. no. 761 bis). An enthusiast of mythology, Merson succeeded in renewing traditional iconography by whimsically removing the usual protagonists, leaving only a triumphant adolescent Cupid leaning against the base of an archaic bronze statue of Pan, brandishing the golden apple. Paris, Aphrodite, Athena and Hera are suggested only by their traditional attributes strewn across the ground, a fact that did not escape the notice of the critic Jules Comte, who was full of praise in the columns of L'Illustration: "It is true that we are dealing here with an outstanding artist; see a little further on this other delightful canvas that he calls the Judgement of Paris. At first, it is hard to grasp the idea, seeing only the mischievous shepherd; the goddesses have fled, leaving behind all their attributes, her peacock, her owl<a href="#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><i>[1]</i></strong></a>". <a href="#_ftnref1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> Comte, J., "Le Salon de 1884", L'Illustration, 3 May 1884, p. 286. Luc-Olivier MERSON (Paris, 1846 - 1920) 81.0 x 48.5 cm Son of the painter and art critic Charles-Olivier Merson, Luc-Olivier Merson completed his training with Isidore Pils at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He exhibited for the first time at the Salon of 1866 and was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome for painting in 1869. After winning a first-class medal at the Salon des artistes français in 1875, he triumphed at the Exposition Universelle in 1889, winning a gold medal. The artist had presented our painting, Le Jugement de Pâris (cat. no. 1022), previously exhibited at the Salon des Artistes français in 1884 (cat. no. 1690) and at the Beaux-arts exhibition in Nantes two years later (cat. no. 761 bis). An enthusiast of mythology, Merson succeeded in renewing traditional iconography by whimsically removing the usual protagonists, leaving only a triumphant adolescent Cupid leaning against the base of an archaic bronze statue of Pan, brandishing the golden apple. Paris, Aphrodite, Athena and Hera are suggested only by their traditional attributes strewn across the ground, a fact that did not escape the notice of the critic Jules Comte, who was full of praise in the columns of L'Illustration: "It is true that we are dealing here with an outstanding artist; see a little further on this other delightful canvas that he calls the Judgement of Paris. At first, it is hard to grasp the idea, seeing only the mischievous shepherd; the goddesses have fled, leaving behind all their attributes, her peacock, her owl<a href="#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>[1]</em></strong></a>". <a href="#_ftnref1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> Comte, J., "Le Salon de 1884", L'Illustration, 3 May 1884, p. 286.