DELACROIX (Eugène). Letters (1815 to 1863), collected and pu - Lot 77

DELACROIX (Eugène). Letters (1815 to 1863), collected and published by Philippe Burty. With facsimiles of letters and palettes. P., Quantin, 1878. In-8, 411 pp. in nigger-head morocco, 5-nerved spine, double red morocco with large border of thread and fleurons, storks carrying a banner reading "libre et fidèle", Burty's motto and monogram interlaced, brocaded silk endpapers, gilt on witnesses, slipcase (Marius Michel). PRECIOUS EXEMPLAIRE BY PHILIPPE BURTY, ONE OF TWO PRINTED ON WHATMANN PAPER, IN WHICH THE CELEBRATED ART CRITIC HAS INSERTED THE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS ADDRESSED TO HIM BY EUGENE DELACROIX during the three years they were in close contact (1861 to 1863), i.e. four signed pieces, some of capital importance, detailed below. 1. July 19, 1861. Delacroix finishes a considerable work he has been working on for 10 months (Chapelle des Saints-Anges at Saint-Sulpice church), and thanks Burty for sending him the catalog of the Parquez sale (an exceptional set of lithographs). This letter (3 pp. in-8) is reproduced in full by M. A. Joubin: Correspondance de Delacroix (vol. IV, p. 254-255). 2. January 24, 1862. Letter concerning early works reproduced or lithographed, as well as his famous painting "Sardanapale", exhibited by Francis Petit, which he had never agreed to show since the Salon of 1827: "I am grateful for your kind words about Sardanapale. I haven't been able to go yet. The painting was exhibited at the 1828 Salon. It was received with only one vote. It outraged everyone and frightened even my friends. Ch. Blanc had told me that a drawing of one of the paintings in the Chapelle de Saint-Sulpice was to appear in his journal; I haven't heard anything about it. This letter (2 pp. in-8) was reproduced by Burty (p. 350) and then by Joubin (vol. IV, p. 299-300). 3. March 1, 1862. Letter of capital importance for the history of Delacroix's illustrations and his lithographed work, in particular Faust and Hamlet. The ailing master thanks Burty for transcribing the Géricault prices (Parquez sale) and continues: "I did not know the Second Faust, and even then only very superficially, until long after my plates were done. It seemed to me a poorly digested work of little literary interest, but one of those most apt to inspire a painter by the mixture of characters and styles it contains. If the work had been more popular, I might have undertaken it. You ask me what gave me the idea for the Faust plates. I remember that, around 1821, I saw Retzsch's compositions, which quite struck me, but it was above all the performance of a drama-opera on Faust, which I saw in London in 1825, that excited me to do something about it. The actor, named Terry, who left his mark on the English theater of that time and who even came to Paris, where he played, among other roles, the part of King Lear, was an accomplished Mephistopheles, even though he was fat; but that took nothing away from his agility and his satanic character. As you know, Motte was the publisher, and he had the unfortunate idea of publishing these lithographs with a text that did a great deal of harm to the print run, not to mention the strangeness of the plates, which were the subject of a number of caricatures and increasingly established me as one of the coryphs of the school of the ugly. Gérard, however, as much of an academician as he was, complimented me on a few drawings, especially the Cabaret. I don't remember what I got out of it: something like a hundred francs, plus an engraving by Lawrence, the portrait of Pius VII. All my speculations have been in this taste. The Hamlet was even better: I had it printed at my own expense and edited myself. The whole thing cost me 5 or 600 francs, and I didn't come back with half my expenses." He goes on to talk about his Medals and Bonington, and finally about Charlet, of whom he has the highest praise. This letter (4 pp. in-8) has been reproduced (except for the beginning) by Burty (pp. 351-352), Loÿs Delteil (P. G. I., vol. III, section concerning the Faust alone) and Joubin (except for the beginning, pp. 303-304). 4. May 13, 1863. Entirely unpublished letter (3 pp. in-8), concerning the publication of his drawings by Burty: "Before embarking on this affair, I reflected on the embarrassment it would cause me, an embarrassment that might be nothing to many others, but which I would feel particularly keenly. It would be possible that, with more leisure, I could get back to it later, but at the moment especially, as I'm about to leave Paris for a long time, I don't know what I'll do.