The morning call., 1894-02-25

know that it could not be bought and also
made them think it hadealready found a
purchaser.
| After that salon exhibition the picture
disappeared. It was absent from all the
! minor exhibitions in France, at which
Gerome usually exhibited. but it was over
year before its whereabouts caused any
talk. Critics and dealers thought of course
that the. picture had been sold, and won
dered WHO the purchaser vas and why he
wished to hide his gem from sight.
When asked about the matter Gerome
simply shrugged his shoulders. He never
kept track of his pictures, he said.
Nothing pleases a Frenchman so much
as mystery. and Napoleon Before the
Sphinx" became the important picture of
the day. 1t had never been reproduced
except In the salon catalogues, and as
GouDiPs edition was the best they could
not supply the demand for copies.
But the wherea bouts of the original
couid not be aSeertained, although urgent
requests were made of the artists by high
denly acquired great patriotic value and
the cry was raised that it should be found
and purchased by the French Government
at no matter what price. And yet it re-
NAMED out OF public view.
Nearly eighteen months after the picture
appeared IN the salon, and when the ex-
element of its disappearance had blown
over. party of lady and gentlemen friends
of Gerome visited him in his studio and
found him so busy they concluded to de-
part in few minutes. Two OF the party
had often visited the artist and knew the
way about the house, so be allowed them
to leave unaccompanied. But. as it hap
pened, young lady, now the wife of
well-known sculptor, led the way, and, as
she had never been 10 the house before.
opened the first door she came 10. thinking
1t the road out.
stead it was a small room, devoid of
all furniture. Hanging on the south wall
was picture that nearly took away the
breath OF every one in the party. There
was no mistaking it; it was Napoleon
Before the Sphinx" about which the
whole art world had been wondering.
Gerome at this moment appeared, but
did not look displeased.
so you have found it," he said. and in
vited every enc in 70 look at 1t. He then
said it was his best work and that be
loved it. He would never sell it, and his
will was made so that his heirs could not
dispose of it. For over an hour he talked
about the picture and the pleasure it gave
him to immortalize that great moment in
the life of Napoleon.
The picture shows moment when Ma
poleon iefs his army down in the valley OF
the Nile and went alone on horseback to
consult the Sphinx of GhieZa as an oracle
That the in ident took place all historians
agree, and Gerome has studied it, so that
II must nave looked as he represented It.
Napoleon's face appears anxious as he
tries to read the secrets of centuries in the
hard face of the monstrous statue. He
possibly asks what the future has in store
Tor him, but gets only the same vacant
stare that has looked toward the east for
thousands of years.
To describe the picture is impossible
from a technical standpoint. and the dra-
matte sentiment conveyed must be called
wonderful. The face of the sphinx seems
to be real stone and the glare of the sun
is white and binding and makes the
ground hot.
1t is a picture once seen will never be-
forgotten. and even the small reproduc-
tons make deep impression on the mind.
The technique is the equal OF any picture
Gerome has painted, but the merits of the
picture depend great deal on The behold
er's sentiment and understanding of the
character of Napoleon.
Gerome has always held TO his deter
mination not to sell the picture, but since
&c has been seen he will show it to particu-
lar friends as a great favor.