Henri COURSELLES-DUMONT (Paris, 1856 - 1918) The Captive Oil on canvas Signed and dated 'H. Courselles Dumont 1904' lower right (Restorations) No frame The captive, oil on canvas, signed and dated, by H. Courselles-Dumont 43.9 x 27.95 in. 111.5 x 71.0 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 17 April 1969 ; Acquired at this sale by Gérard Lévy ; Gérard Lévy Collection; Then by descent Exhibitions: Salon des Artistes Français, Paris, Grand Palais, May 1904, cat. no. 475: "La captive". Bibliography: Postcard no. 609 Gr., ND Phot; 1904: "Salon de 1904 - La Captive, par H. Courselles Dumont". Baschet, Ludovic, Catalogue illustré du Salon de 1904, Librairie d'Art, 1904, cat. no. 475: "La captive". Maison Française, n° 272, November 1973, reproduced p. 189: "La Captive". Schurr, Gérald, 1820-1920 / Les Petits Maîtres de la Peinture / Valeur de Demain, tome 3, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, 1976, reproduced : "La Belle captive" After initial training with Luc-Olivier Merson at the Ecole des Beaux-arts in Paris, Henri Courselles-Dumont joined Jules-Élie Delaunay's studio, where he became his assistant, notably working on the frescoes for the Panthéon. Exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes français from 1882 onwards, he gradually turned to history painting, often combining it with fantastical, erotic and sombre imagery, for which he was awarded a 3rd class medal in 1898. Exhibited in 1904, our large painting of a captive held captive by an imposing barbarian rider provides the perfect pretext for a sensual and unequivocal depiction of a seductive female nude. Henri COURSELLES-DUMONT (Paris, 1856 - 1918) 111.5 x 71.0 cm After initial training with Luc-Olivier Merson at the École des Beaux-arts in Paris, Henri Courselles-Dumont joined Jules-Élie Delaunay's studio, where he became his assistant, notably working on the completion of the frescoes at the Panthéon. Exhibiting at the Salon des Artistes français from 1882 onwards, he gradually turned to history painting, often combining it with fantastical, erotic and sombre imagery, for which he was awarded a 3rd class medal in 1898. Exhibited in 1904, our large painting of a captive held captive by an imposing barbarian rider provides the perfect pretext for a sensual and unequivocal depiction of a seductive female nude.